An Unknown Bond
by WingsOfADream
Summary: COMPLETEPRNSToriDustinIn preperation to fight Lothor's latest monster, Tori and Dustin have to spend 48 hours alone together. No problem...That is, unless their growing feelings for each other make things awkward...
1. Part I

Hi everyone :)  
  
It's a Tori/Dustin romance! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Am I the only one who thinks they would be soooo cute together? Now, I know there are some people out there who won't like this, (someone who reviewed my last story even said not to write a Tor/Dustin) but I had to write it. The idea just kept circling my head, screaming out, "You know you want to write me!" I tried it with Tori/Blake but it just didn't seem to gel right. So, it's Tori/Dustin. I also tried Tori/Shane but I lost interest in that since Shane isn't my favourite character in the world and I tried Dustin/Shane as well but as I've said before, I just cannot write slash well. It's just something I can't do lol.  
  
Only thing I have to say is that I don't own Power Rangers Nina Storm. I might someday when I'm Queen of the World but right now, I don't so you can't sue me :)  
  
Prepare to visit the dentist, the sweetness may cause cavities :)

* * *

It was a cold, rainy day as Tori and Dustin ran through the forest near the entrance to Ninja Ops. Shane had gone with Blake and Hunter since the three of them and Dustin had met up at Storm Chargers earlier. Tori had, strangely, not shown up and Dustin had been the one to volunteer to go to her apartment to see what was up. When he got there, he found Tori running around, desperately trying to get ready after she had slept in late having forgotten to set her alarm clock the night before. They had got themselves stuck in traffic on the way and were now several minutes late for training.  
  
"You know what the best thing about this is?" Dustin called over the sound of the pounding rain as they ran through the trees.  
  
"What?" Tori called back, not slowing down her pace.  
  
"For once, we're not going to be late because of me." He laughed. Tori just scowled at him and continued to run. They eventually reached the waterfall and quickly ran through the portal. They dashed across the wasteland of the destroyed achademy and skidded to a stop just beside the trap door that led to the underground control room. Dustin crouched down and opened it. "Ladies first." He yelled. Tori quickly jumped down and Dustin followed, pulling the door shut as he fell. Completely soaked from head to toe, Tori and Dustin slowly walked down the stairs, panting due to their marathon of a run they just had.  
  
"About time you two showed up." Blake grinned as they walked in.  
  
"Dude, it's suicide out there." Dustin muttered as Tori rung out her hair sending a splash of water falling to the floor.  
  
"Let me get you two some towels." Cam said as he left the computer screen.  
  
"How come's you didn't meet us Tor?" Shane questioned as he came over to them.  
  
"She forgot to set her alarm clock." Dustin answered for her as Cam came back and handed them each a towel. "Found her running around her apartment desperately trying to get ready."  
  
"Hey, at least I was trying to make up for it." Tori defended. "I had to skip breakfast. Do you know how hungry I am right now?"  
  
"How many times have I told you not to skip breakfast Tor?" Dustin said suddenly. "You'll crash like you did that time at school."  
  
"Ugh, don't remind me." She muttered. "That has got to be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life."  
  
"Yeah, it was classic though. You guys should have been there." Dustin grinned. "It was like, one minute she was standing next to me and the next minute she was just gone."  
  
"If I remember correctly, you didn't find it so funny at the time." Tori grinned back, poking his ribs. "From what I remember, you totally freaked out."  
  
"I don't remember you ever fainting at school." Shane said in confusion.  
  
"Didn't it happen when he was off with the chicken pox?" Tori pondered to Dustin.  
  
"Yeah, I think so. Anyway, don't distract me." Dustin ordered. "The fact is, you still skipped breakfast. I don't think you should push yourself too hard today. Not until you eat something."  
  
"Dustin, relax. I'm fine." Tori reassured, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Dustin has a point Tori." Sensei's voice came suddenly. The rangers all turned around to see their Sensei come into view in his little house. "Breakfast provides an essential boost of energy when your body most needs it. Not taking in this energy boost can have serious effects on how well your body functions."  
  
"Seriously, I'm fine." Tori insisted. "I've just run through the forest at top speed and I feel perfectly normal."  
  
"All right. However, if you feel fatigued you must rest at once." Sensei instructed her.  
  
"Yes Sensei." Tori agreed with a small bow.  
  
After a few more instructions and a short lesson from Sensei, the six rangers all relaxed. Hunter, Blake and Shane sat at the table and talked, Cam sat at the computer as usual and Tori and Dustin were sparring. They were doing it half heartedly at first, not really putting much effort into it but they gradually got more energetic and before long, they were jumping and back-flipping. After a while, they caught the attention of the others who began to watch them in amazement though not because of their energy but because of their moves. They seemed to know what each other was going to do before they did it. Dustin made a jab at Tori stomach which she easily blocked. She went to do a round-house kick but stopped suddenly when she noticed Dustin was ready to catch her leg. Instead, she went to the floor and swept her leg, intending to trip him. Once again though, Dustin seemed to know it was coming and jumped up in plenty of time to avoid it.  
  
"Woah!" Shane cried suddenly, standing up. Tori and Dustin both froze in the same position, with their left legs lifted, half way through a kick. "How are you guys doing that?"  
  
"Doing what?" Tori asked as she and Dustin lowered their legs at the same time.  
  
"Fighting like that." Shane elaborated. "You seemed to know what the other was going to do before they did it."  
  
"I've never seen anything like that before." Hunter put in. "It flowed like it was all planned out or something."  
  
"Dude, what would be the point of that?" Dustin asked as he and Tori sat down next to each other at the table.  
  
"Don't get too comfortable guys." Cam warned suddenly. They all turned their heads to look at him over at the computer. "Looks like Lothor's sent out another one of his aliens." They all gathered around the computer screen to see an alien that kind of looked like a mutated cat with really big paws.  
  
"We're on it." Shane said as they all stood in a line."Everyone ready?" He asked like he always did before they morphed.  
  
"Ready." Everyone chorused.  
  
"Ninja Storm..."  
  
"Thunder Storm..."  
  
"Samurai Storm..."  
  
"Ranger Form! Ha!" Light surrounded them all. "Ninja Ranger Power!"

* * *

The six rangers arrived on the scene as streaks of coloured light. They landed behind the alien and took up their fighting stances.  
  
"Ah, Rangerssssss." The monster hissed, turning around to face them. "Sssso glad you could make it."  
  
"Dude, what's up with your voice?" Dustin taunted. "You might wanna get some speech therapy for that lisp."  
  
"Ha ha, sssso funny I forgot to laugh." The alien sneered as it shot several purple laser beams at the rangers. They all dove out of the way with cries of surprise and rolled to the side.  
  
"Lets go." Shane ordered as they stood up. He charged towards the alien baring his sword with Tori and Dustin following not too far behind. They all struck the creature, sending sparks flying from it's chest. They quickly moved away to let Blake and Hunter have a turn and then they spun out of the way so Cam could hit it. They all stood in a line again as the falled alien got back to it's feet.  
  
"Hey, sssssix againsssst one issssn't fair!" The monster whinned pathetically. "Mind if I double up?" It laughed as it split into two.  
  
"Humph, one more of you won't make any difference." Shane growled. "C'mon guys." They all charged at it again, Shane, Hunter and Cam going for one and Dustin, Blake and Tori taking the other. They quickly discovered though that for some reason, nothing they did quite worked and soon they were getting hit more than they were hitting. They all backed off slightly and the two aliens laughed at them.  
  
"You'll never beat me unlessssss you work as one." The two mosters cackled.  
  
"What does that mean?" Blake asked.  
  
"No idea." Shane answered. "Let's try it again. Give it everything you've got." He ordered as they all once again charged. As they ran, Tori suddenly felt a little dizzy. She slowed down a little and shook her head slightly before carrying on her charge. Soon, they were all fighting again, but it was still in vain. No matter what they tried, nothing was working. Now, Shane, Dustin and Cam were working together while Blake, Hunter and Tori were helping each other.  
  
Just as Blake and Hunter were hit to the side slightly, another dizzy spell came over Tori. She held her head with one hand as she bent over slightly, her vision clouding. "Get it together Tori." She scolded herself mentally. "Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint." She chanted but it wasn't working, she could feel herself slipping away from reality...  
  
Dustin, Cam and Shane all took turns to hit the monster they had targeted. Just as Dustin moved away from stricking a blow, a strange sensation washed over him which knocked him off balance slightly. He lowered his head a little and took a few deep breaths. He couldn't describe it. It was like a feeling that something was happening...Something not good...Something which was happening to...  
  
"Tori!" Dustin suddenly cried, his head shooting up. His cry caught Shane and Cam's attention and they looked at Dustin, their masks hiding the looks of surprised confusion on their faces. Dustin's head snapped to the side just in time to see Tori fall backwards and land on the floor with a thump. A few seconds later, her ranger uniform was gone leaving her only in her ninja uniform. Dustin immediately ran over to her and sat her up slightly. "Tori?" He called desperately, gently patting her cheek. "C'mon Tor, wake up!" The other four rangers came over and stood in front of Tori and Dustin protectively.  
  
"I say we bail." Hunter suggested as the two aliens approached them all.  
  
"Yeah, we're getting worked anyway." Blake agreed.  
  
"All right then." Shane nodded before standing up straight. "Ninja Smoke Screen!" He cried, throwing his hand down. The group suddenly vanished in clouds of red, yellow, blue, crimson, navy and green smoke leaving behind the alien who just let out a cackle of triumph.

* * *

She first became aware of the hardness of what she was laying on. Then she realised that various parts of her body were going numb. With a small groan she scrunched her eyes up and brought her hand up to her head. She attempted to sit up and felt her hand on her chest which pushed her back down. She slapped it away irritably.  
  
"Let me up. My butt's asleep." She grunted groggily as she began to push herself up.  
  
"Fine, but not too quickly." She heard Dustin's voice come as a hand came to her back and helped her up. She sat up completely, her back slumped over slightly and she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She heard the sound of other people settling around her and she knew the other rangers had come into the picture. "You want a glass of water?" Dustin suddenly asked.  
  
"No, I'm okay." She muttered as she slowly opened her eyes. She saw everyone around her before she closed her eyes again to stop the brightness of the surrounding area offending them. "What happened?" She inquired tiredly, rubbing her eyes once again.  
  
"You passed out." Shane's voice answered.  
  
"Did we win?" She asked.  
  
"We had to retreat." He told her somewhat reluctantly.  
  
"Oh." Tori sighed lamely. "Because of me?"  
  
"Partly." Shane admitted. "But also because we were fighting a loosing battle. There's a special way to beat that thing. Cyber Cam's working on it right now." Tori nodded and a suddenly felt someone pull her chin up.  
  
"Tori, I need you to open your eyes." She heard Cam order. She slowly inched them open only to be greeted with the intense bright light of a little torch. She immediately shut them again and hid her face.  
  
"Ugh, what are you trying to do? Blind me!" She groaned.  
  
"Don't be such a baby." Cam chidded, forcefuly pulling her face back up. Tori knew she couldn't avoid it and reluctantly opened her eyes and kept them open. Cam held up his hand in front of her face.  
  
"How many fingers?" He questioned.  
  
"Four." Tori answered. He let his hand drop and nodded approvingly.  
  
"No sign of a concusion. She'll be fine." He concluded as he moved away. All the boys visibly relaxed and Tori moved herself off of the table. She slumped on one of the blue pillows and Dustin was by her side immediately.  
  
"You see? I was right wasn't I?" He scowled like a concerned mother. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! You made my heart perculate!" Everyone kept in a laugh at Dustin's choice of words and decided against telling him that perculate is actually what coffeee does.  
  
"Hey Dustin, how did you know something was going to happen to her?" Shane inquired from across the table. "You weren't even looking at her and you just suddenly called her name out."  
  
"I don't know dude." Dustin admitted in his usual confused tone. "I just got this really weird feeling come over me and I just kinda knew something bad was going to happen to her."  
  
"Can you explain it Sensei?" Blake asked the rodent who was watching them all from the side.  
  
"There could be many explanations." Sensei told them. "It is impossible to say without further experimentation and evidence."  
  
"Which will have to wait for later." Cam spoke up from over by the computer. He was leaned over Cyber Cam's shoulder and watching the monitor curiously. "We've figured out how to beat that monster." The other five rangers all gathered around the computer, Dustin making sure to stay close to Tori. "It seems it can only be defeated when it splits into two and then, it can only be damaged when both forms are hit with synchronised, simultanious attacks." Dustin glanced around a little, scratching the back of his head.  
  
"They have to be hit at the same time in the same way." Tori murmured to him.  
  
"Ohhh." He nodded slowly.  
  
"So we have to actually figure out a routine for the fight?" Hunter concluded.  
  
"Yes. And here's the other thing, only two if us will be able to do this." Cam explained.  
  
"How comes?" Shane frowned.  
  
"Ever heard of the expression, 'too many cooks spoil the broth'? That's basically the case here. If all six of us went out there to fight it would never work. It can be done with only two people and that's how I recommend we do it." Cam justified.  
  
"Who's going to do it then?" Tori asked, adjusting her standing position slightly, making Dustin glance at her just to make sure she was all right.  
  
"That's what we'll find out now." Cam told them. "Cyber Cam has designed a test that will help us find out which on of us has the strongest link with another. Those two will be the one's who fight."  
  
"So what do this test involve?" Shane queried.  
  
"I hope it's multiple choice." Dustin said.  
  
"Well, the test will help us to see how synchronised we all are with each other." Cam told them before disappearing through a door for a moment. He came back carrying two rolls of black plastic under each arm. "These have five touch sensitive pads attatched to each of them." Cam explained as he rolled them out on the floor next to each other. "When the pads light up, you have to touch them with any part of your body as soon as possible." He looked at Blake and Hunter. "Do you guys want to start?" They nodded and stood on the plastic sheets. "Ready?...Go!" Cam ordered as he turned the power on.  
  
Each sequence lasted for as long as they could keep going with a reasonable level of success. They had all lasted about three or four minutes before loosing it, finding it too hard to keep up with the lights, falling out of sync or they just felt completely drained. Cam explained that the lower their average of seconds between hits were, the better. Soon, almost everyone had done it together and the result so far was Hunter and Blake had the best average while Hunter and Tori had the worst.  
  
Now, the only pair that hadn't done it together was Tori and Dustin. They stepped onto the sheets and after a few seconds, motioned to Cam that they were ready. He started the lights and Tori and Dustin began. The lights started off slowly so at the beginning, they had all done well and Tori and Dustin were no exception. However, the lights gradually sped up and the rest had all found in impossible to keep up with it together and that was when they had fallen apart. That didn't seem the case with Tori and Dustin though. They moved with ease and in perfect sync. They didn't appear to be waiting for each other or anything like that. They reacted at the same time in the same way. Soon, the lights were appearing rapidly and would have disappeared just as rapidly, but somehow, the two were able to keep up and keep in time. Soon, it looked more like they were performing a break dance routine rather than doing a spontaneous test. They were using their feet and hands, crouching down, bending over forwards and backwards, jumping and spinning, all in perfect time with each other like they were programmed that way or something. After seven minutes they were still going but it was getting more apparant that Tori was tiring.  
  
"That is enough." Sensei instructed. The two ninjas stopped their actions and Tori wobbled slightly. Dustin was immediately by her side, an arm coming around her to help support her. "Tori, you are to sit down until you are told you may rise." Sensei told her strictly. Dustin led Tori over to the table and sat down with her, putting his arm around her comfortingly. She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled into the crook of his arm a little.  
  
"This is unbelievable." Cam gasped as he looked at the sheet of paper that Tori and Dustin's results were on. "I don't even need to take an average. It says you had perfect timing throughout the whole exercise."  
  
"Is that good?" Dustin asked.  
  
"It's pratically impossible." Cam told them all. They all looked at each other un-surely for a moment, not sure how they should be feeling.  
  
"Soooo, does that mean we win?" Dustin prompted, not getting what the big deal was.  
  
"If you want to look at it as winning, then yeah." Cam replied. Dustin gave a laugh of triumph and punched the air with his free fist. "Dustin, have you not absorbed the fact that what you and Tori have just done isn't natural?"  
  
"It isn't?" Dustin said in confusion.  
  
"No it isn't." Cam sighed, getting slightly irritated. "Have you noticed anything different about you and Tori recently?"  
  
"I think the way they are at the moment sort of shows that something is definately up with them." Hunter stated, referring to their cosy position cuddled up on the edge of the table.  
  
"Dude, she's not feeling well!" Dustin reasoned, trying to hide his embarrassment at his suggestion that something was going on. He paused and looked at her for a second. "She's asleep anyway so it doesn't count."  
  
"Though she was not asleep when you first put your arm around her." Sensei suddenly countered.  
  
"Oh no, not you as well!" Dustin groaned, trying not to move in case he disturbed Tori.  
  
"All I am saying is that recently, you and Tori have grown closer." Sensei told him calmly. "And have you not noticed that you are both more aware of each others feelings now? Plus, you knew she was in trouble before you even saw it with your eyes. You're un-natural ability to synchronise your actions is also very parculiar."  
  
"So what are you saying Sensei?" Shane questioned. "Do you mean that Dustin and Tori have some kind of bond?"  
  
"Let me tell you something." Sensei said as he paced up and down his small house. "When I was younger and Cam's mother was still with us, we began to feel certain things. Somehow, we were able to sense things about each other, things we did not know and could not have found out by other means. We discovered that we shared a special bond. One that is un-comman even amoung ninjas."  
  
"What, like soul mates or something?" Blake inquired.  
  
"No, nothing as committing as that. It was a bond that grew from years of knowing and caring for each other. To know someone on such an intimate level, that you can tell their emotions without seeing them and accurately predict their actions, usualy takes more than a lifetime to develop. However, there are cases where it can develop much more rapidly as it did with me and Cam's mother and as, I believe, it has with Dustin and Tori."  
  
"So you're telling me that Tori and I are meant to be together...Romantically?" Dustin managed to ask out, wishing the furious blush on his cheeks would go down.  
  
"If the bond is nurtured, then yes, you find you do have the un-deniable urge to love her and protect her as she will with you." Sensei informed. Everyone was silent as they all took in the information. Dustin and Tori were going to fall in love? How soon would it happen? Would it last forever? And if it didn't, would it ruin their friendship? Would it change their relationships wth everyone else?  
  
"Erm, hate to interrupt dudes." Cyber Cam interrupted the silence suddenly. "But are you gonna tell them the second part of the plan?"  
  
"Oh right." Cam remembered though it seemed so much more awkward to say now they knew all this. "You and Tori are going to have to spend the next 48 hours together."  
  
"That doesn't seem too bad." Dustin shrugged.  
  
"I mean together on your own. For the next 48 hours you need to eat together, work out an attack pattern together, basically do everything together, including sleeping together." Everyone let out small choaked gasps and Dustin almost fell off the table. "I don't mean it like that!" Cam muttered. "I meant just in the same bed. You need to spend as much time together as possible. It's the only way to make sure you're both on top form for when we try to attack again."  
  
"So it'll just be me and Tori, alone, for a whole two days?" Dustin asked, just wanting to make sure he'd got everything perfectly clear.  
  
"Pretty much." Cam confirmed. "We'll all drop by at some point to give you a break and see how you're doing but other than that, you'll be together all the time. Also, I wouldn't recomend leaving the house for the two days so make sure you stock up on activities and food." Dustin nodded at each thing Cam said, mentally making a note of it in his mind.  
  
"I guess we'd better get going then." Dustin said un-surely.  
  
"Dude, aren't you fogetting something?" Shane pointed out.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Tori's still asleep. She doesn't know."

* * *

What do we all think? I know that was kind of a dumb place to stop but I really couldn't let this chapter get any longer. Anyway, I'll be back with the next chapter soon.  
  
Catch ya later dudes :)  
Huggles  
Wings of a Dream


	2. Part II

Hi everyone :)  
  
I'm back and I've got chapter 2 :)  
Wow, I feel so loved :) So may nice reviews that all you lovely people have given me. I'm really glad you told me how you all felt 'cause I was seriously doubting whether anyone would be interested in this but you are which is great :)  
Anyway, now to deal with those lovely reviews :) I'd like to thank-CamFan4Ever, malissa, aj, Moonlit Sea, monkay-pooh, Crimson-Ranger, Makia Durron and alexis for all reviewing :)  
  
Now to get on with the reason you're all here...

* * *

Telling Tori exactly what was going on had been awkward to say the least. She had taken the whole '48 hours alone together' thing all right but upon hearing the whole 'bond with Dustin' thing, she wasn't surprised at first, until she was told that it would probably lead to a romantic relationship. That had shocked more than a little. She hadn't said much about it though. Just a few murmured words about how they'd just have to see how things turned out.  
  
All the guys had insisted that she go straight home once they left Ninja Ops. Dustin drove them all in Tori's van and they dropped her and Cam off at her home. Cam said he wanted to tell her everything in detail and explain what things had to be done during the two days. Then, they borrowed her van so that they could load up on supplies for her and Dustin. They had spent a good two hours running around town, going into every movie and video game rental shop and supermarket they could think of. They lost track of how much they had spent on movies and video games but had limited the amount they spent on food knowing that Tori always had plenty in her apartment.  
  
After everything they had bought was packed into Tori's van, Dustin had dropped off the other guys at their apartments. He then headed straight to Tori's apartment, where they agreed the 48 hours should be spent. Once there, he parked in the car park of the apartment block and managed to pick up all six bags of food, video games and movies. Although it was a struggle and he had a bit of trouble seeing where he was going, he managed to make it up to her apartment on the third floor without dropping anything.  
  
"Hey." Dustin called through the door, kicking it lightly since he had both hands full. Soon, the door swung open to reveal Cam. "Oh hey Cam." Dustin greeted as he stepped inside. "You hanging around for a while?"  
  
"No, I have to get back to Ninja Ops." Cam informed as he stepped outside. "Have a good time and remember, no leaving the apartment unless it's absolutely neccessary like in case of a fire or something. Other than that, you don't step out of this door until we come and get you this time in two days."  
  
"Kay." Dustin nodded. "See ya dude."  
  
"Bye." Cam said as he walked away. Dustin kicked the door shut and the 48 hours officialy began...

* * *

First Day-16:01   
Forty-eight hours remain  
  
Dustin went straight into Tori's sitting room. He found her sitting on the sofa in her pyjamas, muching on an apple and reading something that was on a sheet of paper. She appeared to be much more alert now and Dustin figured she'd finally had something to eat and drink, besides th apple she was eating at that moment. She seemed to realise he was there and raised her head to look at him. Her eyes widened and she gave a small laugh of surprise.  
  
"Are you sure you got enough stuff?" She grinned. Dustin just grinned back at her and shrugged a little. "Here, let me give you a hand." She offered as she pushed herself to her feet and took a couple of bags from Dustin. She led him to her small kitchen and motioned for him to put the bags down on the table. They began to un-pack it all and Tori was aghast at most of the stuff he and the other guys had brought. "What's with all the breakfast and junk food? Two packets of waffles, a bottle of maple syrup, two boxes of pop tarts, a tub of powdered sugar and a box of pancake mix." She listed as she took each item out of the bag.  
  
"I like breakfast." Dustin told her defensively.  
  
"You're going to get totally hyped on all this sugar." Tori tutted, shaking her head slightly as she began to put things into various cuboards. Silence fell over them, the only sound coming from the rustling of the plastic bags and the opening and closing of cuboards doors.  
  
"Hey Tori?" Dustin said suddenly. "What do you think about this 'bond' thing?" Tori stopped what she was doing and seemed to think for a minute.  
  
"I think that...In a way, it makes sense. We've been friends since we were two so I guess if we were going to have a bond with someone, it would be with each other. On the other hand, I can't imagine being with you as more than a friend..." Tori explained, leaving the sentance hanging.  
  
"Same here. But Sensei said that we'd find that we'd have this, like, un-deniable love for each other." Dustin told her quietly. Tori remained silent.  
  
"I think we should just see what happens." Tori replied after a moment or two as she began to un-pack the bags again. "Just carry on as we are at the moment and see what happens." Dustin nodded and started un-paking again as well. An awkward silence hung in the air. "What's this?" Tori asked suddenly as she held up one of the movies Dustin had rented. "The Worst of Sick Magic? We don't seriously have to watch this do we?"  
  
"Course we do! Dude, it'll be totally cool." Dustin told her enthustiastically. And with that, the ice was broken. The atmospere cleared and they were once again just childhood friends having a sleepover. They finished putting away all the food and took all the movies and video games into the sitting room. They dumped it all on her table and sat down of the sofa.  
  
"Okay, Cam's made us a list of things that have to be done." Tori told him as she pulled the piece of paper she had been reading from the table. She handed it to him and he briefly looked over it.  
  
"Dude! There's no time for movies or games!" Dustin cried in despair.  
  
"It's not a list of everything, just things that have to be done. There'll be plenty of time for watching movies and stuff." Tori reassured as she began to sort through the many movies and video games.  
  
"Ohh." Dustin hummed in realisation. He looked down the list and noted the different activities that they were required to do. Things like synchronisity tests, general knowledge about the other and practising how to feel the other's energy. "Do we have to do this straight away?"  
  
"I don't think so." Tori answered as she studied a game box. "I think the idea is that we spread it out over the 48 hours."  
  
"In that case, I say we start with video games. You owe me a rematch remember?" Dustin reminded as he went over to her TV and found her games console on top of her DVD player.  
  
"You mean from last year's whole 'tournament'?" She laughed, making little air quotes wit her fingers. "Can't you just get over the fact that I'm better at racing games than you are?"  
  
"There's nothing to get over because you're not better than me at racing games and I'm gonna prove it right now." Dustin insisted as he grabbed one of the games from the bag, took the disc out and put it inside the console. He grabbed the two controlers and crawled over to Tori. Handing her one of the controlers, he climbed up onto the sofa next to her while she flicked through the title sequence and selected the rules they wanted.  
  
"I take it you want first selection of car?" Tori sighed as she glanced at Dustin.  
  
"Dude, you know I always pick the same one." He tutted as he moved the selection square over to the one he wanted. Tori just selected one at random and they both hit the start buttons symoltaneously to start the game. They stared at the screen in concentration and as soon as the countdown had ended, they made both machines speed off. They were neck and neck for a while before Dustin began to pull ahead. He began to do his annoying trick of swerving into her path whenever she tried to pass him, making Tori frown at the screen and stick her tongue out slightly in concentration. "You wanna pass me, but you can't pass me! You can't pass...You passed me!" Dustin cried as Tori sped ahead of him.  
  
"Maybe you should spend less time taunting and more time concentrating. You missed a speed boost." She told him, her eyes not moving from the screen.  
  
Eventually, the race ended and Tori was the first to cross the finish line. This, of course, greatly annoyed Dustin and he insisted on best two out of three. Then, when he lost the next one, he insisted three out of five and so on. Once they had reached best ten out of ninteen, Tori refused to play the game anymore and suggested they play a beat-em-up instead since they were pretty evenly matched in them. Dustin ended up beating her more times than she beat him which cheered him up a lot and then they played a few team games against the computer, deciding that they could probably justify it as some sort bonding exercise if they needed to.  
  
After they'd finished with the games, they decided it was probably best to start on the attack sequence...

* * *

17:32  
Forty-six hours, twenty-nine minutes remain  
  
"Okay, so where do we start?" Dustin asked as he began to do a few stretches to warm up. He and Tori had cleared a space in the sitting room where they would have enough room to practice.  
  
"Why don't we just do some moves and see what comes out?" Tori suggested for lack of a better idea. Dustin gave a nod and they took up their defensive stances. Then they sprung into action, both at the same time. They began to throw synchronised punches and kicks, identicle in style. Whatever Tori did, Dustin would to at the exact same time and vise-versa. After a while, they noticed what was happening and they both stopped. "You weren't copying me were you?" Tori queried.  
  
"Uh uh. Dustin said, panting a little. He scratched the back of his head and let out a small gush of air. "Besides, if either of us were copying, we'd have been at least a second slower than the other. From what I could tell we had perfect timing."  
  
"Do you think it's gonna happen all the time?" Tori pondered, not really expecting Dustin to know the answer but feeling that it was a question that needed to be voiced. "'Cause if it is, then we don't need to work out a sequence. We'll just do whatever is needed at the time."  
  
"Wanna try it again? Just to make sure?" Dustin asked. Tori nodded and, seemingly getting an idea, hurried out of the room. She came back a few minutes later with a video camera in her hands. "When'd you get that?"  
  
"A while ago. It was a birthday present. I think we should film what we're doing so that we can see for sure if we're doing it all in perfect time." She settled the camera and adjusted the zoom so that it had a perfect shot of the whole room and they would be seen clearly. She turned it on and quickly got into position. They both stood there for a moment before resuming their thrashing the surrounding air at the same time. Once again they were in perfect time and after ten minutes, they decided that was probably enough. Tori went over to the video camera, stopped it recording and re-wound the tape inside. She sat of the sofa next to Dustin and played their movements back. As they had thought, they were doing everything in the same way at the same time. They watched in amazement as they even made identicle mistakes at the same time as each other. "Well, I guess we can cross off 'create and practice attack pattern'." Tori sighed tiredly as she grabbed the paper and a pen and struck a line through the instruction.  
  
"What now?" Dustin inquired as he grabbed one of the bottles of water on the table, which was now against the wall, and took a few gulps from it.  
  
"Sparring?" Tori suggested also grabbing a bottle of water.  
  
"Sure you don't wanna take a break?" Dustin checked.  
  
"No, I'm okay. You?" Tori replied, lifting the bottle to her lips.  
  
"No, I'm good." Dustin told her as he lifted his bottle to his lips. They both took a simultaneous gulp of water and both alomst choaked on it. They gave each other a look before giggling a little, partly from the strangeness of it all and partly due to the embarrassment of the reason they were synchronised.   
  
They set their bottles down on the table and stood across from each other. They took up their fighting stances and just syked each other out for a moment. They stared at each other, playful smiles spreading across their lips. Suddenly, Dustin playfuly smacked her hand so that it was jolted to the side slightly. Tori gave him a playful, indignant gasp before doing the exact same thing to him. Dustin looked at his smacked hand like she had done the most un-speakable crime in the world before quickly pouncing on her. Tori let out a surprised cry as they tumbled to the floor. Dustin pinned her down and grinned at her triumpantly. Tori just gave him a small smirk before yanking her arms free from his weak hold and tickling him. Dustin began to laugh immediately and almost fell on top of her. She managed to roll out of his way though and, stradling his waist, continued to tickle him before he could recover.  
  
"Du...Dude!...Ha haha...get off!" Dustin managed to gasp out as his laughter continued.  
  
"Say uncle." Tori ordered as she carried on her merciless torture.  
  
"U...Un...Cle...Uncle!" He managed finally. Tori grinned down at him before getting off of his stomach and sitting beside him. He sat up weakly and held his stomach. "You think you're pretty clever don't you?" He muttered. Tori just gave him a side-long glance and smiled a little. Dustin frowned at her and Tori's smile faded. Suddenly, Dustin's frown turned into an evil smirk and in the blink of an eye, Dustin was on top of Tori and it was his turn to do the tickling. Tori laughed and squirmed beneath him, trying to curl away from his dancing fingers but failing. Dustin continued to tickle, but as he kept doing it, part of him noticed how much he enjoyed seeing Tori laugh. His actions slowed down and Tori eventually stopped laughing. She just lay there for several minutes as she tried to catch her breath and Dustin found himself looking at her in a different way. She looked so beautiful sprawled out underneath him like that, her cheeks slightly flushed, her hair a little tousled and her chest heaving as she caught her breath.   
  
Tori's eyes slowly opened and she and Dustin just stared at each other for a moment. When had the other become so attractive? Neither moved nor spoke. They just stared at each other, Tori's arms now pinned at her sides by Dustin who was now leaned down closer to her. Why did he have this sudden urge to kiss her?  
  
"Dustin?" Tori murmured suddenly. Dustin seemed to come back to reality and he immediately rolled off of her. He sat beside her and just stared at the floor. Tori sat up slowly and watched as Dustin kept his eyes stuck to the floor. A faint blush tinged his cheeks and Tori noted how cute he looked...Wait, did she just call Dustin 'cute'? "Erm...How 'bout we eat? I'm totally starved." She said quickly as she stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Dustin watched her leave and fought the urge to punch a hole in the wall. Why had he done that?! He was such an idiot! Tori was probably totally freaked out now and he'd probably ensured that the rest of the two days would be extremely uncomfortable. With a tired sigh, he hauled himself to his feet and followed Tori's path to the kitchen where he found her rooting through various cuboards. He watched from the door as she pulled things out, looked at them and then put them back again.  
  
"Do you want something insanely sugary or something normal?" Tori asked suddenly as she crouched down in front of one cuboard and opened it.  
  
"How did you know I was here?" Dustin gasped, seriously not expecting her to notice his presence.  
  
"Well, for one thing, I'm a ninja." Tori pointed out with a grin. "And secondly, we've got this whole bond thing haven't we? To tell you the truth, I've been able to tell where you are roughly for the past few weeks."  
  
"Wait! You're telling me you knew something was up? And you never said anything?!" Dustin cried.  
  
"I just thought I'd been spending way too much time with you." Tori shrugged. She looked at him over her shoulder and gave him a small smile before turning back to the cuboard in front of her. It was kinda true. She had thought at first that it was happening because they were spending a lot of time together but then she began to wonder. She had spent a lot of time with Blake and nothing had changed, yet it had with Dustin. That's why when she was told about what Sensei had said, she wasn't too surprised After all, it certainly explained a lot. Did she like it though? She wasn't sure. She hadn't really thought about it, she hadn't had time. There was something there though. Some kind of electricity between them. She didn't know if it was because there actually was a bond or if it was because they knew there might be a bond and what that would mean to their relationship and it made them a bit wary and uncomfortable. She forced herself to abandon her thinking and concentrate on food. "So, you want something sugary then?" Tori guessed, knowing she was right.  
  
"Erm, yeah." Dustin murmured. She'd already figured it out before she was actually told? Why hadn't he? Was he really that much of an air-head that he wasn't even aware of his own feelings? He thought back over the past few weeks to try and figure out if there had been any hints he failed to pick up on. He remembered certain times where Tori had seemed to read his thoughts, answering questions he was too embarrassed to ask out loud and trying to cheer him up when he was feeling down but no one else noticed. He remembered all those times where Tori had greeted him when he knew there was no way she could have known he'd arrived. But those had all been Tori, he couldn't remember one time where he'd done anything like that...Except for earlier that day when he knew that Tori was going to faint. Why had it only kicked in today for him when it had been happening with Tori for weeks?  
  
"Dustin?" Tori voice interrupted his thoughts. His eyes focused on her and she smiled at him a little. "Don't worry about it. Like I said before, we'll just have to wait and see what happens." Dustin was stunned. She'd done it again! She'd known exactly what he'd been thinking! "You wanna order pizza as well? My treat." Tori offered as she pulled a few bowls from a cuboard and placed them on the table.  
  
"In that case." Dustin grinned, glad he didn't have to pay and his troubles forgotten in an instant. He grabbed her phone from the wall and dialed the number of the local pizza place while Tori put some popcorn into the microwave and carried on gathering food from all over the room.

Thirty minutes or so later, they were both back in the living room, sitting on the floor with their backs resting against the bottom of the sofa, surrounded by food including the pizzas Dustin had ordered. Dustin had changed into his pyjamas as well since they were more comfortable and he knew he wouldn't be bothered to change later.  
  
"Could you have ordered any more pizza?" Tori asked, amused, as she opened a can of coke.  
  
"Hey, I just got the essentials." Dustin insisted. "Plain cheese and tomato so we can put our own toppings on it, one of those stuffed crust things for you and two pepperoni."  
  
"Oh no, you're not gonna do that thing where you put sweet things on the pizza are you?" Tori groaned.  
  
"Course!" Dustin told her. He got up and stepped over the ring of surrounding food. "Okay, so what are we gonna watch first? I vote for the sick magic."  
  
"No way am I watching that while I'm eating!" Tori cried in horror. "I vote for Armageddon."  
  
"Too bad, I didn't rent that one." Dustin smirked, knowing that she'd probably want to watch it, it was one of her favourites.  
  
"Good, I would've hated to see you waste your money. I've already got it on DVD." Tori smirked back, looking rather smug.  
  
"We're not watching it Tor. I don't know why you want to watch it anyway, you always start crying at the end." Dustin muttered as he looked through the bag of movies and games.  
  
"I'll make you a deal." Tori reasoned, ignoring his comment about her crying. "Tonight, we'll watch whatever you want, but tomorrow, we have to watch what I want." Dustin looked at her for a moment before sighing and throwing his hands up in defeat.  
  
"Fine." He agreed as he pulled out a few DVD boxes and took them over to her TV. He set everything up and grabbed the remote. He went back over to Tori and sat down next to her, grabbing the bowl of popcorn as he lowered himself. "Let the gross out begin." He grinned as he pressed the play button.  
  
The DVD was more of a documentory type thing rather than a movie. It showed various past magic acts that either went badly wrong or were just plain gross. Tori hid behind a pillow most of the time especially when the trick involved blood or created the illusion that the magician was inflicting damage on themself. Dustin seemed to be really enjoying it though even if certain bits did gross him out. He never looked away, he just gazed at the screen with childlike amazement and sometimes gasps and exclamations of dude came from him. Once it had finished, Tori had to sit through both Ace Ventura movies for the hundreth millionth time. They were two of Dustin's favourites and he was always renting copies of them. At least she could eat without feeling queasy when she watched them though.  
  
Half way through the third movie of the night, Dustin nudged Tori's side. She turned her attention to him and he showed her the cheese and tomato pizza he had now covered with improvised toppings. She smiled at it, not because of what he had put on it, but because of the way he'd put them on. He'd placed several yellow M&Ms to form a smiley face and used brown M&Ms for the faces hair and the eyes. Underneath, in blue M&Ms, he'd written "Hi Tori". Tori took the two eyes, put one in her own mouth and the other she held out for Dustin. Instead of just taking it with his fingers like she expected him to do, he leaned forward and gently pulled it from inbetween her fingers with his mouth, his lips gently brushing against her skin. Tori froze and Dustin quickly pulled away. He looked genuinely surprised that he had just done that. They stared at each other, both of their breathing shallowed and their heart rates increased. Tori was the first to break the eye contact and went back to watching the TV. Dustin continued to gaze at her for a moment before also turning back to the TV. Throughout the rest of the time they watched movies, every so often, they would throw the other a quick glance, a part hoping that they'd find them looking back and the other part hoping that they remained un-aware.

* * *

And there we have the end of chapter 2. Hope you all enjoyed it. As always, let me know what ya think. I love to hear from you all.  
  
Catch ya later :)  
Huggles  
Wings of a Dream


	3. Part III

Hi everyone :)  
  
In coming chapter 3.  
I saw the final episode of Ninja Storm for the first time yesterday. I knew what was basically gonna happen from the various stories I've read which refer back to it, but just knowing what was going to happen couldn''t beat actually watching it. Gave me one of those warm fuzzy feelings inside :) I really loved it and I know it's gonna give me an idea for a story the more I think about it lol.  
Okay, some stuff about the music referred to in this chapeter; I'm in England as you may or may not know so I you might find that Tori has a weird taste in music because I'm basing it on what I know. I haven't included any groups I know don't perform outside the UK but atleast one that I'll mention I'm not sure about so if you don't recognise the name of a group/song, it's probably because they/it never made it out of the UK.  
Review time :   
  
Makia Durron : Wow, huge compliments there :) I'm glad you like my writing so much, makes me feel loved lol.  
  
Aubrey : You're so right. It's bound to happen I think. I mean, I know that it is possible for girls and guys to remain friends but those two are just so good together :)  
  
Moonlit Sea : Glad you think it's all excellent :) As for where I get my storylines, I get them basically from everywhere. From my own imagination and devlopments of other people's ideas are the main one's but like I said, all over really. If yours don't come out too well it might be due to planning. Stories that are made up as you go along usually don't turn out too well. It's best to have an idea of the main events you want to happen and then pad it out with extra scenes and stuff. Okay, I'm gonna stop acting like a know-it-all now and I hope some of that helped a bit :)  
  
malissa : You said that I'm talented :) Yay :)  
  
TVrocks : I love your name dude lol. Couldn't agree with it more. I totally agree with you on the Dustin/Hunter thing as well. If he can't be with Hunter, he should be with Tori.  
  
huntersgrl13 : They are cute together aren't they lol. This story is 99% original since nothing is 100% original anymore because we all get our ideas from somewhere. If I'm basing it on something I always make it perfectly clear right at the begining that I am o people don't get confused. So if there isn't a disclaimer, it's all little old me :)  
  
Ranger-gurl : Of course there's more. That'd be a bit of a funny place to stop wouldn't it lol.  
  
I'd also like to thank Crimson-Ranger, Divagurl277, CamFan4Ever alexis and GP for reviewing as well :)  
  
Anyone got any cavities yet? Lets hope this one doesn't cause a sweetness over load...

* * *

21:57  
Forty-three hours, four minutes remain.  
  
The movies were over and the food had been eaten. Since neither of the rangers were tired, they decided to try and do some of exercises that Cam had told Tori about which would help to strengthen their 'bond'. They sat facing each other, their legs crossed in front of them. Tori was staring at Dustin with a strong look of concentration plastered on her face. Dustin leaned back on his arms slightly and looked kinda bored. Soft music played in the background, mostly because Dustin didn't like it when a room was completely silent. Tori continued to stare, rarely blinking and not moving. Then, suddenly, her face cracked in a smile and she began to laugh un-controllably.  
  
"What's so funny?" Dustin questioned, sitting forward slightly.  
  
"You have a crush on Britney Spears!" Tori gasped as she held her stomach which was starting to ache. Dustin turned bright red and frowned.  
  
"Hey, that's private information!" He cried indignantly. "I never gave you permission to snoop about the private part of my mind!" Tori looked at him as her laughter began to ease up slightly.  
  
"I...I'm sorry." She stammered, a laugh interrupting her sentence every so often. "I just never imagined you to go for someone like her." She began to giggle again. "Britney Spears. Hehe." Dustin gave an annoyed grunt.  
  
"Can I have my turn now?" He ordered more than asked. Tori mostly stopped her laughing and sat up straight. Now it was Dustin's turn to do the concentrating. He looked her over and found himself noting how beautiful she was for the second time that day. Her cheeks were rosey from her laughing and she looked so sweet in her over-sized, light blue pyjamas which was patterened with little sheep. He suddenly noticed that his eyes kept being drawn back to her chest. At first he scowlded himself for ogling her but then he realised that there was something there which shouldn't be. Something that wasn't natural..."Hey Tori, show me your chest." He requested suddenly.  
  
"What?!" Tori gasped as she clutched her pyjamas shirt to her chest.  
  
"No, not the whole of your chest, just the middle bit." He corrected. Tori looked at him for a moment before un-doing the first three buttons on the shirt. Dustin watched her intently and his jaw dropped when he saw a long red scar running down the middle of her chest, in the valley between her breasts. "Where the heck did that come from?!" He gasped as he pointed to the scar.  
  
"I've always had it." Tori told him. "From an operation when I was two."  
  
"You had an operation when you were two?!" Dustin exclaimed. "You've never told me that before."  
  
"No reason to." Tori shrugged, leaning back slightly. "It's not like it effects me in anyway. It's just a scar...Is it the reason you asked to look? Did you know it was there?"  
  
"No...I mean, I had a feeling that something was there but I didn't know it was a scar. I didn't know what it was..." Dustin trailed off, staring at the red streak. Slowly, he reached towards her. Tori, too stunned to move, just looked at the somewhat sad look in his eyes as his finger tips brushed against the scar for a second. He touched it again, his fingers lingering for longer this time, gradually traveling down. Tori's breathing shallowed again and her gaze didn't move from Dustin. His fingers stopped moving but remained pressed against her chest and he slowly raised his head and his gaze met her's. Once again, they found themselves looking into each others eyes and Dustin again felt the urge to kiss her, only this time, Tori felt the same way. Slowly and un-surely, their faces inched closer to each other until they could feel the others breath tickle their faces. Both of their eyes gradually shut at the same pace and their lips were so close to touching...  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud crackle and all the lights went off and the CD player stopped playing. Tori and Dustin immediately pulled apart, Dustin's hand leaving Tori's chest, and looked around. "What happened?" Dustin gasped. Before Tori could answer, her door bell rang. She stood up and headed out of the room. Dustin heard the door open and then the sound of Tori's voice and another's. He listened intently but failed to make out exactly what it was they were saying. After a few minutes, he heard the door close again and Tori come back into the room.  
  
"Must be a power cut." Tori explained, her voice indicating she was walking across the room heading for the kitchen. "Seems the whole building's in darkness." Her voice came slightly muffled, meaning she must have got to the kitchen. A faint orange glow suddenly grew and Tori appeared carrying several lit candles of different sizes and colours.  
  
"So there isn't any electricity?" Dustin gasped as Tori came back over to him and settled the candles around them.  
  
"Well there generally isn't when there's a power cut." Tori grinned. Dustin let out a slient groan and scratched the back of his head nervously. Tori glanced at him and smiled gently. "We should turn in for the night, we won't be able to do much with it being so dark...You really don't like it when it's quiet do you?" She asked, suddenly changing the topic.  
  
"Huh?" Dustin grunted.  
  
"You sleep with the radio on." Tori informed as she lit another candle on the flame of one that was already a light. "What is it that you don't like about it?"  
  
"I don't know. It just really gets to me." Dustin answered, sounding uncomfortable. Tori peered at him through the darkness and felt a pang of pity flow through her. With a small sigh she stood up, picked up several candles and offered her hand to him. He looked at it and then back to her face.  
  
"C'mon, let's go." She smiled. He took her hand and she helped him up. They stood quite close to each other and they peered at each other. Tori slowly turned away and led him to her room by his hand which she still held. She gently opened the door to her small room and they both walked inside. She dropped Dustin's hand and went around the room doing certain things which Dustin couldn't make out. She eventually stopped moving and blew out all but one candle. She set the un-lit candles down on her dressing table and put the lit one on her bed side table. Her single bed was in the corner of the room so one side was right up against the wall. She climbed into her bed and shuffled up next to the wall so that Dustin had room. Looking over at him, he was standing there somewhat awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. Tori pulled her sheets away from the bed and patted the space next to her. "Hop in." She invited. Dustin hesitated before quickly getting in next to her, as if the quicker it was done the quicker it would be over. Tori pulled the sheets over them and then snuggled down. "Night Dustin." She whispered from the darkness.  
  
"Night Tor." He whispered back, trying not to move in case he disturbed her. He felt a finger poke his ribs and he flinched away.  
  
"Relax." He heard Tori's voice order from his side. "You'll never get to sleep if you're all tense." Dustin didn't reply but did let his muscles relax. He felt Tori turn over and he knew she was facing him. He turned his head slightly and could just make out the shape of her head. "Dusty?" She murmured sleepily. Dustin couldn't help but be surprised. She only ever called him Dusty to bug him but that hadn't sounded like a jab at him, it sounded more affectionate like a petname.  
  
"Yeah." He whispered back.  
  
"Blow out the candle." She requested. Dustin let out a small groan and sat up to blow out the candle before settling back down. "Thanks." He heard her yawn before there was silence.  
  
Dustin lay there awake for ages, un-able to let himself drift into sleep. Usually, if this happened he'd have the radio to sing along with in his mind but with no power, he couldn't do that. He turned to his side and came face to face with the sleeping Tori who had obviously moved closer at some point without him noticing. He could make out most of her face now that his eyes had become accustomed with the darkness. She looked so cute and peaceful, her lips slightly parted and her hands gathered together just under her chin. A small smile crossed his lips and he gently pulled a hand up and ran a finger over her cheek. Why did he suddenly feel this way about her? This morning she had been a girl and a friend, but she wasn't a girlfriend. Now, less than twelve hours later, he was looking at her in a different light. She was still a girl and she was still a friend, but now a part of him wanted her to be more than just a friend. Un-certainly, he edged slightly closer to her and draped an arm over her waist. Her head was now lightly resting against his chest and his chin was brushing against her hair a little. While he held her, a song came into his mind and, in an almost inaudiable voice, he gently sang it.  
  
I could stay awake,  
Just to hear you breathing.  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping,  
When you're far away and dreaming.  
I could spend my life,  
In this sweet surrender.  
I could stay lost in this moment...Forever.  
Well, every moment spent with you,  
Is a moment I treasure.  
  
I don't wanna close my eyes.  
I don't wanna fall asleep.  
Cause I'd miss you babe,  
And I don't wanna miss a thing.  
Cause even when I dream of you,  
The sweetest dream would never do.  
I'd still miss you babe,  
And I don't wanna miss a thing.  
  
Lying close to you,  
Feeling your heart beating.  
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming,  
Wondering if it's me you're seeing.  
Then I kiss your eyes,  
And thank God we're together.  
And I just wanna stay with you,  
In this moment forever,  
Forever and ever.  
  
Tori moved a little suddenly and Dustin paused. He shut his eyes to make it look like he was asleep and waited until he was completely sure she was still asleep herself. When he was satisfied she was, he slowly opened his eyes and continued.  
  
I don't wanna miss one smile.  
I don't wanna miss one kiss.  
I just wanna be with you,  
Right here with you,  
Just like this.  
I just wanna hold you close,  
And feel your heart so close to mine.  
And just stay here in this moment,  
For all the rest of time.  
  
I don't wanna close my eyes.  
I don't wanna fall asleep.  
Cause I'd miss you babe,  
And I don't wanna miss a thing...  
  
Dustin let out a yawn and found himself too tired to continue. His eyes floated shut and within seconds, he was asleep. However, from where he had left off in the song, another small voice continued;  
  
And even when I dream of you,  
The sweetest dream would never do.  
I'd still miss you babe,  
And I don't wanna miss a thing.  
  
Tori's eyes opened slighty and she snuggled into Dustin's warmth before closing her eyes again and letting herself drift back off to sleep.

* * *

09:43  
Thirty hours, eighteen minutes remain.  
  
Tori woke up to find that Dustin was no longer laying beside her. After getting out of bed and quickly running a brush through her hair to get rid of the worst of the tangles, she exited her room and wandered into the kitchen. She was surprised to find the table layed with maple syrup, butter, blueberry sauce, two glasses of orange juice and knives and forks. Also, Dustin was by the oven, trying to keep an eye on the toaster while cooking pancakes. He'd obviously already made several pancakes as there were two plates next to him, both with fairly large stacks on them. Tori walked further into the kitchen and stood by the table.  
  
"Hey, the power's back." Dustin smiled, taking a second to flash her a smile. "Have a seat, it won't be much longer." Tori did as she was instructed and watched Dustin in amazment.  
  
"I never knew you could cook." Tori admitted as Dustin flipped the pancake he was cooking over.  
  
"I can do a lot of things." Dustin replied with a mock smugness. Tori smiled at him and frowned suddenly.  
  
"How long have you been up?"  
  
"Erm...A couple of hours maybe." He mused as he nudged the pancake with the spatula in his hand.  
  
"Never thought of you as a morning person either." Tori told him, her eyebrows raising slightly.  
  
"I'm not usually but I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to wake you by tossing and turning so I thought I'd just get up and make breakfast." Dustin explained.  
  
"Oh." Tori said lamely as Dustin put the now cooked pancake on one of the plates. He moved to the toaster just as four waffles came popping out. He quickly put two on each plate and tehn took them over to the table. He placed one plate in front of Tori and put the other one down in front of him as he sat down opposite her. "You didn't have to do all this you know." Tori told him quietly, sounding almost embarrassed that he had.  
  
"Yeah, I know. But I wanted to." He told her in the same way. They looked at each other for a moment and Tori considered telling him that she'd actually been awake last night when he was singing. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Dustin said suddenly. He grabbed the maple syrup and drenched his pancakes in it.  
  
"Sure you've put enough on those?" Tori laughed as she put a small helping of blueberry sauce on the side of her plate and cut a chunk of butter to put ontop of her pancakes. Dustin just stuck his tongue out at her before eating the bit of pancake he had stuck on the end of his fork. "You are gonna be so hyper today with all this sugar in your system." Tori warned, as she lifted a chunk of waffle to her mouth.  
  
"Ii heps ee oo ake uh." Dustin told her with his mouth full.  
  
"What?" Tori laughed.  
  
"I said, it helps me to wake up." Dustin repeated after swallowing, laughing a little as well. "So what's on the agenda today?"  
  
"Mmm..." Tori hummed as she thought, her mouth filled with orange juice. "Same as yesterday I guess. A few exercises, some sparring and the rest of the time we'll eat and watch TV."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Dustin nodded.  
  
"And remember, we get to watch the movies I want today since I had to put up with your's yesterday." Tori reminded him with a grin. Dustin gave a small grunt.  
  
"Fine. What are you planning on watching?"  
  
"Titanic." She paused as Dustin groaned. "The Matrix." Dustin shrugged his shoulders. He was pretty in-different when it came to The Matrix. "And Armageddon." Dustin suddenly made a strangling noise and began to cough as he choked of his orange juice. Tori knew that might produce more of a dramatic reaction after what happened last night.  
  
"You...You really want to watch that?" He gasped when he finally stopped coughing. Tori hesitated, un-sure of how to answer. After last night, she realised she wanted more than just friendship from Dustin. Only problem was, she didn't know how to tell him and she didn't know how'd he'd react. This could be the perfect moment to tell him she'd actually heard him last night, but she couldn't gather the courage.  
  
"Yeah, it is one of my favourites." She shrugged eventually, staring at her plate. She slowly lifted her gaze to meet his though she didn't lift her head. "And the song that Aerosmith wrote for the soundtrack is one of my favourites." She added, hoping he might take the hint.   
  
Dustin just stared at her with his mouth slightly ajar. Did she know about last night? Or was that just wishful thinking? Was it just coincidence that she liked the song? Though the way she had said it implied it was more than that...But what if it wasn't? She'd said to just see how things went and he didn't want to rush her. He was now completely convinced of his own feelings. She was definately more than a friend to him now but was it the same for her? "Kay then." He murmured quietly before stuffling more pancake into his mouth. He felt like kicking himself, he'd chickened out! He glanced at Tori who was glaring at her plate and he wondered if maybe she did feel the same...

* * *

11:06  
Twenty-nine hours, fifty-five minutes remain.  
  
Breakfast was now over with. Everything was washed and dried and put away so now, Tori and Dustin were in the sitting room going through her vast collection of CD's. They had got bored with the computer games and they were too lazy to spar or do exercises, they hadn't even bothered to change out of their pyjamas, so they decided to go through her CD's just to keep themselves occupied. Quite a complex CD player sat inbetween them in case they found something they wanted to listen to.  
  
"You have the weirdest taste in music." Dustin mused as he thumbed through the various cases.  
  
"This coming from the guy who likes Britney Spears and Linkin Park." Tori muttered defensively.  
  
"I just have a wide taste in music." He justified. "Where as you just like plain rubbish. I mean, c'mon, Westlife's Flying Without Wings? You've got to be kidding!"  
  
"It's a beautiful song." Tori insisted.  
  
"Evanescence? Dude, they're so depressing. It's like, wrist slashing music."  
  
"And Linkin Park isn't?" Tori countered. "Have you never seen the video for Numb?"  
  
"That's totally different." Dustin replied, pulling out a CD, looking it over before putting it back.  
  
"I had a feeling it would be." Tori sighed with a small shake of her head. She looked back to the CD's and found the soundtrack to Armageddon. Her heart beat increased as she considered whether she should give another go at trying to tell him how she felt. She peered at Dustin through the corner of her eye. He was busy pulling out CD's, checking them over then giving a small smirk before putting them back. She looked back to the CD and let out a small sigh. "C'mon, just say it." She told herself. "Oh, look what I've found." She murmured, just to practice getting it out.  
  
"What did you find?" Dustin asked suddenly. Tori's head shot up and she found Dustin leaning over slightly. He had heard? Damn, she'd said it too loud. She suddenly felt like a cat had come along and pinched her tongue because she felt un-able to speak. She tried to calm down and then decided to attempt speaking.  
  
"The...The, erm, the sound track to Armageddon." Tori managed to get out. Dustin didn't say anything but a huge blush appeared on his cheeks. Suddenly, an idea came to her, one that she prayed she'd be able to pull off convincingly and without too many mistakes. She put the CD on wordlessly and waited for the song to start. Dustin had gone back to the CD's, trying to busy himself for which Tori was thankful for. It would help her a lot if Dustin wasn't watching her. As the words to the song came, she turned down the speech volume so that just the music could be heard and she could put her own words in...  
  
Did you stay awake,  
Just to hear me breathing?  
Did you watch me smile while sleeping?  
While I was far away and dreaming.  
Could you have spent your life,  
In that sweet surrender?  
Could you have stayed there in that moment,  
Forever?  
Is every moment spent with me  
A moment you'd treasure?  
  
Do you not wanna close your eyes?  
Do you not wanna fall asleep,  
'Case you miss me Dust?  
Do you not want to miss a thing?  
But even when you dream of me,  
Will the sweetest dream never do?  
Would you still miss me Dust?  
Do you not want to miss a thing?  
  
Dustin was now staring at her, aghast, his mouth hanging slightly open. Tori swallowed heavily through the short instrumental, quickly planning the next words.  
  
I moved close to you,  
Feeling your heart beating.  
Heard you sing while you were dreaming,  
Hoped that it was me you were seeing.  
Then I held you close,  
And thanked God we were together.  
Cause all those moments spent with you,  
Are the moments I treasure.  
  
I don't wanna close my eyes.  
I don't wanna fall asleep.  
Cause I'd miss you Dust.  
And I don't wanna miss a thing.  
And even when I dream of you,  
The sweetest dream would never do,  
I'd still miss you Dust,  
And I don't wanna miss a thing.

Tori had actually intended to stop there but suddenly, she heard Dustin quietly mumble something.  
  
And I don't wanna miss one smile.  
And I don't wanna miss one kiss.  
I just wanted to stay with you,  
Right there with you...  
  
Tori moved closer to him and he gently put his arm around her shoulders.  
  
Just like this.  
  
They stared into each other's eyes, getting completely lost in them and Tori quietly continued the song.  
  
And I just want to hold you close.  
And feel your heart so close to mine.   
And stay here in this moment,  
For all the rest of time.  
  
Their faces slowly came together, their eyes gradually shutting. They were so close, their noses briefly brushing past each other at one point. So close together...So close to touching...Then the door bell rang. Tori's head just dropped down and Dustin tilted his back and punched the floor in frustration.  
  
"Oh, come on!" He cried. Tori let out an annoyed sigh and hauled herself up befor storming out of the room to get the door. Dustin turned the CD player off and ran a hand through his hair. Well, all that was certainly un-expected. He could hardly believe it had happened really. He heard Tori's muffled voice and then the muffled voice of Shane. Dustin's head dropped in defeat. Great, now the others were here. He could just forget doing anthing with Tori now. Oh well, maybe later would turn out more promising.

* * *

How was that? Hope you all liked it. The song, as I said in the story, is by Aerosmith. They own, not me. The version that Tori sings though, I made up all on me lonesome so I get to take the credit for that :)  
I'll be back with the next chappie soon.  
  
Catch ya'll later :)  
Huggles  
Wings of a Dream


	4. Part IV

Hi everyone :)  
  
I've brought you all some more yummy Tori/Dustin goodness :) Glad to hear you're all enjoying the story.   
I was watching an episode of Mighty Morphing Power Rangers last night just for nostalgia 'cause I used to love that when it first came out, I think I must have been about 6 or 7 years old. Anyway, I never realised before but the Yellow Ranger doesn't have the little skirt thing that the Pink Ranger does yet is played by a girl in the American version. So I'm guessing it was meant to be a guy in the original Japanese version. I just thought it was interesting and funny that I've never noticed it before...But that's just me :)  
  
Review time :  
  
Aubrey ) : I absolutely adore Aerosmith full stop. They rock so hard. My favourite has got to be "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" but "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing" is my second favourite. Glad you liked the version I made up myself. I do that kind of stuff a lot, changing the words to songs although I usually change them to something stupid :)  
  
Makia Durron : I am mean aren't I? lol  
  
TVrocks : I love your reviews :) They're so funny. I'm glad you think I've caught the emotions well and sorry about breaking your heart, I'll help you sweep it up afterwards lol. I actually thought the whole doorbell thing was more funny than heart breaking but that's just me I guess.  
  
Blake-Tori88 : Oooo, nice long review :) I can imagine Tori being with all the guys except Shane and that's only because I'm not that interested in Shane. Glad you liked the Aerosmith touch. I just had to include them in at least one of my stories and this seemed like a good place to put them. There are a few of reasons I had Tori's favourite movie as Armageddon; a) I know more about Armageddon than Blue Crush, b) Armageddon gave me a good excuse to use Aerosmith's song and c) everyone says that Tori's favourite movie is Blue Crush. It's so predictable.  
  
I'd also like to thank : CamFan4Ever, alexis, Stoned Gir, GP and Moonlit Sea for all reviewing :)  
  
I doubt this chapter will be what a lot of you expected. From some of your reviews, I think you're all expecting a huge dramatic kiss with cries of "I love you" and other stuff. Well, although that's what I was going to originally do, it's not what I'm gonna do now. I thought about it and that just seems like such a cliche so I'm gonna do something a bit different which will, hopefully, still work just as well as a huge, dramatic declaration of love.  
  
Now, for your entertainment, I give you Chapter 4...

* * *

11:26  
Twenty-nine hours, thirty-five minutes remain.  
  
Dustin remained sitting on the floor and began to flip through the CD's again, trying to make it look like he wasn't bothered with knowing who was at the door.  
  
"Hey, Dustin!" Shane's voice suddenly greeted from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to find Shane now sat on the sofa and Blake and Hunter just coming in. "Dude, why are you still in your pyjamas?" Shane laughed, noticing his friends choice of clothing. Dustin shrugged and turned from the CD's to face them all now that Tori and Cam were also in the room.  
  
"Didn't see the point in getting dressed. Besides, Tori's still wearing her's." Dustin pointed out.  
  
"She's allowed to, it's her place." Shane grinned.  
  
"Anyway," Cam interrupted, not wanting to have to sit through a debate. "How's it been going?"  
  
"Pretty good I think." Tori answered as she perched on the edge of her table which was still pushed against the wall.  
  
"Done your attack sequence?" Cam checked.  
  
Yep, we've got it all figured out." Tori nodded.  
  
"Been doing your exercises?"  
  
"Yeah...And found out some very interesting facts." Tori grinned, giving Dustin a sly, side-long look. Dustin gave her a look which just screamed don't-even-go-there. "So, what's the situation on the freaky cat?" Tori inquired, thinking it best to change the subject.  
  
"Haven't seen or heard anything." Hunter spoke up. "Would've come and got you two if we had." Tori nodded and then there was a long silence. They all knew the question that was screaming to be asked but none of them thought it was thier place to ask.  
  
"So how's the whole bond thing going? Fallen in love yet?" Shane asked suddenly.  
  
"Shane!" Blake yelled, hitting the boy next to him with a pillow while Tori and Dusitn's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.  
  
"What? We all want to know, you guys are just to chicken to ask." Shane retorted before turning back to Tori and Dustin. "Well? How is it going?" Tori stared at the ground, trying to think of something to say that didn't sound too commiting...  
  
"We're just taking it one step at a time." Dustin answered. Tori looked over at him and was surprised to find his blush gone and his voice showed no sign of nerves. "You know, just seeing how things turn out." Tori couldn't help but be amazed by his calm attitude. He was usually the first to get flustered when he was accused of anything romantic. The other's seemed to be rather surprised as well and no one spoke for a moment until Shane suddenly jolted forward and picked up on of the video games carelessly left on the floor.  
  
"You rented Soul Calibur II? Sweet, I rule at this game." Shane grinned.  
  
"Hey, I beat you the last time we played remember?" Dustin reminded. Shane looked at him and grins slowly spread across their lips.  
  
"Soul Calibur II Tournament!" They both cried as Shane lept off the sofa and shuffled next to Dustin just in front of the TV. Tori let out a bored sigh and Hunter, Blake and Cam looked confused and silently asked her for an explanation.  
  
"They do this sometimes." Tori told them in a bored tone. "They have a little 'tournament' to prove whose the best. Usually it's best three out of five but they adjust it if their loosing. They drag me into it sometimes but most of the time I'm able to avoid it." She took a quick look at her oldest friends who were currently arguing about what characters they were going to be. "We won't be allowed to talk to them for a while."  
  
"So how has living with Dustin been so far?" Blake questioned.  
  
"It's been pretty good. Except for the weird food combinations and the mountains of sugar he insists that we eat. That I could do without." Tori replied, smiling slightly.  
  
"How was sleeping in the same bed? Shane said he snores like thunder." Hunter smirked. Tori kept back a blush and struggled to find her voice at the mention of last night.  
  
"Can't say I noticed any snoring." She managed to answer. "But then again, I sleep like a rock." She added with a laugh.  
  
"Ha, beat you!" Dustin cried making the others turn to look at him and Shane.  
  
"That was just one round. Still a lot more to come." Shane sneered, his eyes not leaving the screen.  
  
"Bring it on." Dustin challenged, also turning back to the screen. While Dustin and Shane continued to play, the others just talked about various thing, nothing really important. At one point, Tori left to make them all something to eat since they were all getting hungry. Cam and her were the only ones who ate something proper while the rest of the guys settled for junk food. After a while, Blake and Hunter had gone over to Shane and Dustin to cheer them on while they played their tenth game, so Tori and Cam were left to talk alone. Tori had moved from the edge of the table and sat on the arm of the recliner that Cam was sat on.  
  
"Cam, how much do you know about the bond Dustin and I share?" Tori murmured quietly so the others, who were making a lot of noise, couldn't hear her.  
  
"Well, I've done some reading on it since yesterday and I have spoken to my father about it a bit." Cam explained.  
  
"Do you know anything about how quickly it develops?"  
  
"Well, from what I understand, there isn't a set development rate. It appears that it can come in leaps and bounds. It can barely be noticable for years and then suddenly, everything will come almost at once. Also, it doesn't necessarily develop at the same rate for each person. Why, are things not developing for you and Dustin?" Cam inquired.  
  
"No, it's not that. The opposite actually. Yesterday morning he was just Dustin, but by the evening he was...I don't know, but I didn't feel the same about him. I still don't." Tori admitted sheepishly, rather embarrassed to be talking about this.  
  
"It's not surprising that it's developed so quickly. Like I said, it has a highly irregular pattern which is impossible to predict. So, you've developed feelings for him now?" Cam gently prompted.  
  
"I guess I have." Tori mumbled.  
  
"Do you know how he feels?" Cam coaxed.  
  
"I'm pretty sure he feels something for me as well. There have been several close encounters, if you get what I mean."  
  
"I see." Cam nodded. A short silence. "So you think you two will get together now?"  
  
"I thought me and Dustin being together had always been in-escapable." Tori replied quietly, a hint of questioning in her tone.  
  
"I guess it has." Cam agreed. "I'm happy for you Tori. As long as your happy, I don't care who you're with." Tori nodded. More silence.  
  
"Hey Cam?" Tori said.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks." She whispered as she leaned down slightly and quickly kissed his cheek. They smiled at each other and continued to talk until Tori felt someones eyes on her. She looked over to the others and saw Dustin looking at them out of the corner of his eye, a small frown on his face. Tori noticed that Shane's character was just about to hit his and she made a small blocking gesture with her arms. Dustin seemed to get the message and quickly turned back to the screen, just in time to see the on-coming attackand press the block button.  
  
"Dude, how did you know I was gonna do that? You weren't even looking at the screen!" Shane growled in annoyance.  
  
"I had a bit of help." Dustin grinned as they both pounded on the buttons on their controlers. Shane got what he meant and let out an indignant gasp.  
  
"That's cheating!" He protested. "No outside help from people you share a supernatural bond with."  
  
"Since when?" Dustin asked, his eyes not leaving the screen.  
  
"Since always."  
  
"You've never said anything about it before." Dustin pointed out with a grin.  
  
"I've never had to before."  
  
"Then how am I supposed to know?"  
  
"It shouldn't have to be said!"  
  
Tori shook her head at the childishness of the two boys. "I can't believe one of those guys is our leader and the other shares a bond with me." She muttered to Cam quietly.  
  
"Scary thought isn't it?" Cam smirked. Tori grinned back at him and they continued to talk as Dustin and Shane carried on their arguement which Hunter and Blake eventually became part of.

* * *

18:14  
Twenty-two hours, forty-seven minutes remain.  
  
Tori muttered to herself angrily as she went around her sitting room with a big plastic garbage bag collecting all the rubbish her friends had produced. There were sweet wrappers, empty bags that had once contained crisps, empty cans and there were crumbs absolutely every where. Dustin was just saying goodbye to everyone now they were finally leaving. She wasn't sure who had ended up winning the little tournament between Shane and Dustin and they probably weren't sure themselves as half way through, Blake had asked who was in the lead which had resulted in the eruption of another heated debate between her childhood friends causing them to make a lot of noise which had made her mood rapidly deteriorate. She heard the front door close and let out a relieved sigh. Finally, a bit of piece and quiet. She loved all of the guys to bits but sometimes it was more apparant than others that that's what they were; a bunch of teenage guys who were roudy, messy and immature. However, now they were all gone, that meant she'd be alone with Dustin again. Great! Her confidence and guts from earlier now completely gone, she felt nervous an apprehensive and with her headache, it wasn't the exciting sensation that could usually be enjoyed. It was a great combination really; a headache from the yelling, the stress of once again being left alone with Dustin and a very messy sitting room which it looked like she'd have to clean herself.  
  
"Woah, what a mess." Dustin's voice came from the doorway suddenly. Tori looked up for a second to see him leaning against the door frame. She stood up and frowned at him, her hands going to her hips.  
  
"Oh that's right, just stand there. Don't bother helping me clear up the mess you helped create." She snapped, her voice thick with sarcasm. Dustin was rather surprised by how annoyed she seemed to be and gave her an I'm-sorry look. Tori continued to glare at him before her resistence fell and with a tired sigh she continued to clean up.  
  
"So what can I do to help?" Dustin asked, getting the really strong sense that Tori was feeling kinda stressed.  
  
"Nothing, I can handle it." He heard her mutter. He considered it for a moment. He could either take what she said at face value and do nothing or he could ignore her and help. Though considering her mood at the moment, he probably wouldn't be able to do anything right and he'd get snapped at whatever he done. So, he decided to choose the thrid option; guilt trip. If there was one thing that could snap Tori out of a bad mood it was a guilt trip.  
  
"Tori?" Dustin said quietly as he slowly walked over to her. No reply. "Tori?" He repeated, gently tapping her shoulder.  
  
"What?" She grunted as she threw a can into the bag not bothering to look.  
  
"Are you mad at me?" He asked in an innocent tone, looking at her with sad eyes just in case she decided to look at him. She stopped her movements and her shoulders slumped.  
  
"No, I'm not mad at you." She told him quietly as she resumed her cleaning.  
  
"What's the matter then?" He questioned, crouching down beside her to try and see her face but it was hidden behind a curtain of her hair.  
  
"Nothing. I'm fine." She insisted as she stood up and went to the other side of the room, a blatant attempt to try and avoid the on-coming coversation with Dustin. Dustin read her like a book though and decided that if she wasn't going to tell him out loud, he'd just have to feel it. He watched her carefully and concentrated, hoping he was doing the right thing to allow him to read her emotions. A sudden wave of emotion came over him and a lump formed in his throat, his head started to really badly hurt and he felt really nervous. He looked over at Tori who was still hurridly stuffing rubbish into the black bag. Was this what she was feeling? Did she really feel this low at the moment? Tori's emotions suddenly left Dustin as his concentration lapsed and he felt like himself again. He continued to watch Tori's actions as he pondered her feelings. He knew what was causing the headache, they had been making a lot of noise, and the stress was probably from the clutter. Tori hated clutter. He knew it, Shane knew it, everyone knew it. That feeling of nervousness though...It was strange. It was the sort of nervous feeling you got when you were around someone you liked, the sort that can actually be quite exciting, but for her it was just another problem...Did she still feel shy around him? But, she knew how he felt about her, she'd heard him singing last night. Maybe she just needed a little reminder of how he felt.  
  
Dustin stood up and left the room making Tori give a down-heartened sigh. She couldn't believe he'd just left without trying to help or attempting to find out what was wrong again. Maybe she had read it all wrong. Maybe he didn't like her in that way after all. Maybe it would never be anything more than friendship for him. She fought back the tears that were threatening to spill over. She felt awful; her head was pounding, the tight lump in her throat was uncomfortable and her back ached from bending over to pick up rubbish. She stood up and stretched her back, hoping to loosen it up. Suddenly, an arm come around her waist. She looked over her shoulder to find Dustin standing right behind her, a glass of water and two painkillers in his hand. He held them out to her and she slowly took them from him, popped the pills into her mouth and washed them back with the water, While doing this, Dustin's other arm came around her waist so he was hugging her from behind.  
  
"Now, you are going to go lay down in your room while I clean up all this mess." Dustin ordered gently, his head coming to rest on her shoulder lightly. Tori just looked at him speechless and he gave her a small grin and kissed her cheek. "I think we've spent enough time being shy and tip-toeing around each other don't you?" Tori still couldn't reply as Dustin took the bag from her and continued to clean up.  
  
As if moving on their own, Tori's legs walked her to her room where she let herself collapse on her bed. She definately hadn't seen that coming. She felt for sure she'd end up making the first move...Well, she already had, kinda. She certainly hadn't expected Dustin to do something as bold as that anyway. She was glad he'd done it though. Gave her one less thing to worry about. She rolled onto her side and breathed in the scent that was stuck on her pillow. She smiled and noted that it smelt like Dustin's shampoo. Dustin had always insisted on using this shampoo that smelt of chocolate his reason being,  
"I already look good enough to eat and I wanna smell good enough to eat."  
Tori smiled and curled up into a ball. Her head still hurt and her back still ached but the lump in her throat was fading away and she no longer felt so stressed out anymore. She hugged the pillow to her and closed her eyes, intending just to rest them, but eventually, slipped into a light sleep.

* * *

19:22  
Twenty-one hours, thirty-nine minutes remain  
  
Dustin wandered around the kitchen making snacks and cooking more pancakes. Tori was still in her room and, once he'd done all the cleaning and vacuumed up all the crumbs and stuff, he decided to cook them something. Having given up on making a proper meal after realising how much work it would be, he decided to stick with what he knew which were pancakes and junk food. While he had his head inside a cuboard, trying to find something, he failed to notice that the pancake that was currently cooking was actually begining to burn. After a while, the smell of burning reached him and he lifted his head only to bang it on the top of the cuboard. He gave a loud moan of pain and edged out, rubbing the top of his head with his hand. He looked over to the cooker and saw that the pancake was now actually beyond just being burnt and had actually caught fire. Dustin quickly scrambled to his feet and dashed over to the pancake. He stood just in front of it, looking around frantically and moving from side to side, not really knowing what to do. Just then, the poptarts in the toaster popped up to reveal that they were also burnt. Dustin let out an annoyed groan and turned his attention to the poptarts. He managed to get them out of the toaster whithout burning his fingers too much but then remembered that the flaming pancakes should probably on the top of his list of priorities. He turned back in the cooker's direction and, to his surprise, found Tori standing there laying a wet towel over the frying pan with the pancake in it. She gave a grin to Dustin who just gave her a sheepish smile back, embarrassed that he hadn't thought of smothering the flames with a wet towel.  
  
"You panicked huh?" Tori guessed as she lifted the, now slightly burnt, towel away and set it down on the side.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I did." Dustin admitted, scratching the back of his neck.  
  
"Doesn't matter." She assured as she picked up the frying pan and tipped the burnt contents into a nearby bin. She held the frying pan up and sighed. "Looks like I'm gonna need a new pan though."  
  
"I'm really sorry Tori." Dustin apologised.  
  
"Like I said, it doesn't matter." She repeated, setting the pan down next to the towel. They stood in silence for a short while before Tori slowly went up to Dustin and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thanks for trying though." She whispered, resting her head against his chest. Dustin slowly wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. And that was that. There were no dramatic speeches, no pledges of un-dying love, not even a proper kiss...Yet they both knew how the other felt. They both knew they were together now, Dustin knew Tori was feeling better and Tori knew what Dustin had been trying to do and neither had said a word, because words weren't necessary for them.

* * *

Okay, that was chapter 4. What do you all think? I'm not that keen on it myself but that's just me. I'm kinda paranoid lol. I've got a serious case of writers block at the mo so I kinda struggled with this chapter. Sorry that it's not as long as the others but this felt like a good place to stop. I reckon there will be another two chapters, maybe a third if I get an idea for an epilouge. They might come out a bit more slowly though, like I said, major case of writers block :(  
  
Anyway, I'll catch ya'll later :)  
Huggles  
Wings of a Dream


	5. Part V

Hi everyone :)  
  
Wow, I feel so loved :) All your reviews were so great and I was really surprised that you all actually liked the last chapter. All your encouragement and nice comments have sort of un-blocked my writers block a little so that's why this chapter didn't take as long as I thought. I've also come up with a new idea for my next story.  
Time to talk to all you lovely people. It's review time. Before we I start though, just wanna take this oppotunity to give all the poeple mentioned here a hug cuddle. You're all so nice and really encourage me. Thank you all :) (BIG CUDDLE!!!!!!!!) :  
  
TVrocks : Lovely long review. Glad you liked the chapter and really surprised you thought it was better than chappie 3. As for the chocolate shampoo, it really does exist you know. It was a kids shampoo that my mum used on me and my brother 'till we were about seven. Don't know if they still make it but if they do, it's still probably for kids which sucks so badly.  
  
Aubrey : Dude (Looks Like a Lady) is just such an awsome song isn't it? I'm gonna have to find a way to include it in a story at some point lol. Glad you're liking the story and I hope this update came quick enough for you.  
  
Makia Durron : Dude, you always make me blush with your reviews :) I'm really flattered you think I'm so talented. You're praise means a lot to me. Hope this update came fast enough for you.  
  
Tj : Thank you so much for your review. It's really reassuring to know that someone actually gets your reasons for doing something. I wasn't sure if anyone would realise why I ended the last chapter the way I did, but you did and that's good enough for me :)  
  
Blake-Tori88 : Thankies for the review. Very pleased you like what I did with the last chapter and interesting to know why you like the story. I always find things like that interesting :)  
  
monkay-pooh : You came back! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay :) You hadn't reviewed for a while, kinda worried you'd abandoned me or something lol. Anyways, majorly blushing at the moment :) I can't believe you think so much of me. I'm so flattered.   
  
I'd also like to thank Moonlit Sea, CamFan4Ever, Divagurl277, Crimson-Ranger, alexis and GP who all also reviewed.   
  
In case anyone gets confused, in this Tori's sister's name is Amanda. I try to keep the made up details in my stories continuous so if you ever see the name Amanda in one of my stories, it'll be talking about Tori's sister.  
  
Now, for your entertainment, I bring you the sweetness...

* * *

23:57  
Seventeen hours, four minutes remain.  
  
After finishing off the cooking together, Tori and Dustin settled down together in front of the TV to watch Tori's choice of movies. Now, they were just getting to the end of Armageddon and, as always, Tori was crying. Dustin was leaned against the arm of the sofa looking really bored while Tori was leaning against his chest, her hand resting on his stomach and a tissue scrunched up in one hand.  
  
"Tor, why are you crying?" Dustin groaned in frustration. "You've seen this movie like a million times before. You know it's gonna be a happy ending."  
  
"Her dad dies! How is that a happy ending?!" Tori cried after sniffing a little.  
  
"She gets married doesn't she? And that guy gets back with his wife and son and that little weedy dude gets his supermodel girlfriend." Dustin pointed out.  
  
"Oh, so that makes up for the six or so other guys that get themselves killed?" Tori countered as she turned back to the TV. Dustin gave a tired sigh but didn't answer her back. He knew he wasn't going to be able to win this argument. Suddenly, the phone next to the sofa began to ring. Dustin leaned over the side of the sofa and picked up the reciever since he was in the best position to answer it.  
  
"Tori's place. Dustin speaking." He said. "Oh hey Mr. Hanson...Huh?...Yeah, it's Waldo." Tori gave a laugh. "I'm good...Just watching a couple of movies...Armageddon...Of course she is, she always does...Sure, she's right here. I'll pass you over. Good talking to you." He held the reciever down to Tori. She took it from him and sat up.  
  
"Daddy? Hi daddy!" Tori squealed into the phone, her crying no longer evident in her voice. Dustin smirked at how much Tori sucked up to her dad. She had to be the only seventeen year old in the world who still called her dad daddy. "I'm fine. How are you?...Good. And Amanda?...Good...What?...Yeah, I guess it is kinda late...No, it's just me and Dustin...No, it's nothing like that...Erm, well, it's kinda complicated...Daddy! Don't say stuff like that!" Dustin watched as Tori's cheeks gained a red tinge. "Daddy, shut up! I am not embarrassed! It's just that...Wait, what was that?" Tori held the phone away from her. "What's that daddy?...I can't hear...You're breaking up...You're..." Tori quickly slammed the phone down and just stared at it for a moment. "Bye daddy." She said to the phone. She glanced at Dustin who just grinned at her. "What?"  
  
"That was smooth." Dustin laughed. Tori glared at him and lightly punched his arm. "He guessed something was up huh?"  
  
"He always does. I swear he must be psychic or something." Tori muttered as she leaned off of the sofa and grabbed a tissue from the box on the table which had been moved back to the middle of the room.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell him?" Dustin questioned, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV as the movie finished. "You know he'd be cool with it especially since it's me."  
  
"I know but you know my dad. He'll want to know every little detail and then he'll just tease us and make a bunch of really lame jokes." Tori explained just before blowing her stuffed up nose.  
  
"Hey, your dad's jokes aren't lame. He's one of the funniest guys I know." Dustin disagreed as he sat up next to Tori and leaned his elbows on his knees.  
  
"You only think that because you've got just as lame a sense of humour as he has. You'll laugh at anything. You're the only person I know who laughed at The Blair Witch Project."  
  
"That was such a funny movie though!" Dustin justified. "The camera's like, all over the place and when, like, they're running and screaming and stuff. Oh, and that bit right at the end when that girl's talking to the camera you can see right up her nose." Dustin recalled before falling into a fit of helpless laughter.  
  
"You are so immature." Tori sighed as she scrunched up the tissue in her hand and threw it and the other one into the small bin she had brought in when they were eating sweets and crisps earlier. "C'mon, we'd better get to bed. Tomorrow's the day and we need to be ready." Dustin nodded and followed her as she left the sitting room and headed down the small hallway and into her bedroom. She flicked the light switch on and headed to her where a radio sat over to the side. She turned it on and found a station that had a decent reception.  
  
Tori looked around and noticed through the open door that the bathroom light was on. She left her room and walked into the small bathroom to find Dustin scrubbing away at his teeth with his toothbrush. Tori came to his side and nudged him slightly with her hip, silently asking him to move over. He did so and Tori grabbed her brush and, after applying a little toothpaste, began to clean her teeth as well. After a while, Tori and Dustin both lowered their heads at the same time and spat the contents of their mouths into the sink. They both grabbed seperate bottles of mouthwash and took a swig from them at the same time. They swirled it around their mouths simultaneously and gargled at the same time before spitting together again. They wiped their mouths with the backs of their hands at the same time and gave a satisfied sigh as well. They looked at each other and laughed a little before turning from the mirror and heading back to Tori's room.  
  
Tori crawled into her bed first, shuffling over to the wall to make room for Dustin who quickly followed her in. They shuffled around a bit, trying to get comfortable before Dustin opened his arms, giving Tori silent permission to come and have a cuddle with him. She moved closer and his arms immediately came around her, hugging her closely.  
  
"Dusty?" Tori murmured suddenly.  
  
"Hmm?" He hummed tiredly, his eyes already closed.  
  
"Can you turn the light off?" Tori giggled, pointing out the fact that neither of them had remembered to turn off the ceiling light. Dustin let out a low moan as he slid from the bed and trudged over to the other side of the room where the lightswitch was. He lazily flicked it off and then shuffled back to the bed, thankful that Tori was such a neat person, it meant there was nothing on the floor that he could trip over. Reaching the bed, he let himself fall onto it and Tori quickly threw the covers over him and snuggled back up to him. "Thanks Dusty." She smiled kissing his cheek. Dustin mumbled something which sounded a bit like "you're welcome" and wrapped his arms around her again. The next thing Tori knew, his breathing was coming out in a steady rhythm showing that he was asleep. Tori sighed and closed her eyes. Why did he need the radio on? He was barely awake long enough to even realise it was on.

* * *

03:00  
Thirteen hours, one minute remain.  
  
Tori slowly came back to consciousness to realize that the warmth of Dustin's body was no longer next to her. She rolled over slightly and found that the bed wasn't warm either so he must have left a while ago. Opening her eyes slightly she saw that it wasn't even light outside yet. The radio had also been turned off. Knowing Dustin was in the kitchen, Tori lazily flung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly got to her feet. Still half asleep, she shuffled across her room and out of her bedroom door towards the light coming from the kitchen. She stopped by the open kitchen door and looked at Dustin. He was sitting on a chair with the top half of his body flopped out across the kitchen table. The only proof that he wasn't asleep was the movement of his index finger pushing down on the end of a fork every so often making it lift up and down. She moved over to the chair to his left and sat down.  
  
"What's up?" Tori inquired through a yawn.  
  
"Had a dream." Dustin murmured not moving from his position or stopping his finger from bouncing the fork up and down.  
  
"I'm guessing it wasn't a good one." Tori mused rubbing her eyes. She rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward on them. "You wanna talk about it?" Dustin shook his head. "You sure? Might make you feel better about it." Tori pointed out. Dustin didn't reply or move in anyway to show that he'd changed his mind. Tori leaned back against her chair and yawned again. "How long have you been up?"  
  
"About an hour." His small reply came. Tori yawned again and nodded her head to show she had heard. Her tiredness didn't go un-noticed by Dustin and he frowned slightly. "You don't have to stay up with me you know."  
  
"I know." Tori mumbled.  
  
They sat there in silence, Tori just staring at the table trying to stop her eyes from dropping shut and Dustin continuing to play with the fork. After a while, Dustin realised she wasn't going to go back to bed until he did and she wasn't going to let him go back to bed until he told her about his dream. It was embarrassing though. He was a guy. Guys weren't meant to get this upset or freaked out about nightmares and it wasn't like the dream was that eventful. Only one thing had happened and just saying it in words didn't convey how frightening it had been and how much it had scared him. He knew why it had scared him so much, he was just surprised that it had scared him so much. He had laid there for ages, trying to relax again, trying to assure himself that everything was fine and nothing was going to happen, but it hadn't worked and in the end, he had felt it best to get up in case he began tossing and turning and disturbed Tori. Looked like he'd done that anyway though. He came to the conclusion that he was going to have to tell her, for her sake, she needed to go back to bed. Come to mention it, so did he.  
  
"I couldn't get to you." He murmured quietly. Tori seemed to wake up from a sleep she was never in and blinked a couple of times.  
  
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Tori asked, sitting up straight.  
  
"There were kelzacks and aliens everywhere. I couldn't get to you." He repeated, also sitting up, though he remained slouched against the back of his chair. Tori just looked at him not knowing whether he was going to continue or not. After a while he did. "I was calling out to you, trying to tell you to hang on...I don't know if you could hear me or not. Then the ground seemed to swallow you. You looked like you were screaming but I couldn't hear anything coming from you...Then it was all gone. You, the aliens, the klezacks, everything. I was on my own in darkness and silence, just kneeling there in a black void..." He trailed off, hating the feeling the memory brought to him. He lowered his head to stare at the edge of the table. This was so lame! He was acting like a total baby. He was about to tell Tori it was no big deal and just to forget about it when he felt her arms come around his chest. He gave a tired sigh and leaned his head back against her chest, no longer bothered to try and hide his feelings. There was no point.

Tori leaned down a little and kissed the top of his head before resting her chin in his curls. As always, he smelt like chocolate. She wasn't sure if this was making him feel better, she was too tired to be bothered to check, but at least she was doing something to try and help. It made her feel better if anything. After a while of silence and staying in the same position, Tori gently rubbed Dustin's chest and raised her head a little.  
  
"C'mon, back to bed." She ordered softly, taking his hand and forcing him to get off of the chair. She lead him out of the kitchen, flicking off the light as they left, and into her bedroom. They slipped back into bed and Tori immediately laid one arm over his waist and the other came up to his face. She gently stroked his cheek and snuggled closer to him. She let out a tired sigh, her hand stopped moving and was then silent, leading Dustin to believe she was asleep.  
  
Dustin let out his own sigh and just stared at Tori's still figure. What would he do if she was suddenly gone? She had been with him for so long and now they weren't just friends...What if it hadn't just been a dream? What if it was a premonition like Shane had with Skyla? He let out another sigh and tried to push such thoughts out of his mind. He needed sleep. They had to fight tomorrow and he had to be alert, if not for himself than for Tori. It was just going to be the two of them and if one of them made a mistake, the other would as well. He had to be ready in case Tori needed protecting. He knew that their new relationship was going to totally change the way he fought, he'd put her safety before his own for one thing, but that was to be expected...  
  
Dustin groaned in frustration. He had to stop thinking! Just stop thinking. No more thinking starting from...Now........Hey, he did it! Oh wait, that was thinking. He sighed again. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

13:31  
Two hours, thirty minutes remain.  
  
"I can't believe how late it is!" Tori gasped as she ran around the kitchen, desperately trying to make some kind of breakfast. Both she and Dustin had over slept, badly over slept. They had woken up at 13:23 and that was only because Cam had called to see if they were ready for the battle. Now, they were both charging around the apartment trying to get everything ready. They had planned on doing a lot of practising before they actually went out but that wasn't likely to happen now.  
  
"Dude, where's my sock?!" Dustin cried from inside the sitting room where he was furiously searching everything; under the sofa, inside and under plactic bags, behind the TV.  
  
"Where did you see it last?" Tori called to him while pulling out two cooked waffles from the toaster and dropping them onto two plates.  
  
"If I knew that then I'd know where to look!" Dustin's annoyed reply came.  
  
"Come eat breakfast." Tori instructed loudly. "I'll help you find your sock once my stomach's full." As she laid the plates on the table, a flustered Dusitn came in. She sat down and poured some maple syrup over her waffle before cutting a bit off and eating it. She watched Dustin in amusement as he flopped down and hurriedly began to wolf down his breakfast. "You're gonna choke it you keep eating like that." Tori pointed out with a hint of amusement.  
  
"No I won't." Dustin assured before stuffing some more into his mouth. He quickly chewed it up before swallowing it. "I've had enough practice of eating in a hurry. Just think about all those times I was late for school."  
  
"You actually bothered with breakfast? Wouldn't it have been quicker just to skip it?" Tori queried after swallowing another mouthful.  
  
"Yes, but when you skip breakfast, you faint. You of all people should know that." He grinned gulping down the last mouthful. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find my sock." And with that, he left the kitchen and resumed his hunt for the elusive sock.

* * *

15:17  
Zero hours, fifty-four minutes remain.  
  
"This is so stupid!" Dustin cried in exasperation as he stood helplessly in the middle of Tori's sitting room, now fully clothed except for a missing left sock. Tori stood at the doorway, also fully clothed with an amused smiled on her face and her hands behind her back. "It's not here! It's totally vanished! Like it was sucked into another dimension!" He seemed to consider that. "Hey, do you think it has?"  
  
"Dustin, this dimension doesn't even want you're stinky old sock, why would another dimension steal it?" Tori grinned. Dustin just frowned at her and looked around himself. She shook her head slightly and sighed. "I can't watch you be so confused anymore. Here." She said as she pulled her arms to her front to reveal that she had his sock.  
  
"Dude! Where was it?" Dustin gasped, going over to her and taking it.  
  
"It was in your bag with the rest of your clothes." Tori laughed while Dustin slipped the sock on. "I don't know why you just didn't look there in the first place."  
  
"I didn't think it would be in there." Dustin justified. "No reason why it should be."  
  
"Well there obviously was a reason since that's where it was." Tori pointed out. She glanced at her watch. "Okay, we have less than an hour 'till the others get here. What do you think we should do?"  
  
"Let's play some video games." Dustin suggested enthustiastically. Tori wrinkled her nose in distaste.  
  
"Let's not." She said. Dustin pouted a little and came round to hug her from behind.  
  
"Please?" He pleaded cutely, his head coming to rest on her shoulder. "Please? Please? Please, please, please, please..." He began to chant, his tone changing with each word.  
  
"Oh, all right." Tori groaned, greatly annoyed by Dustin's constant noise. Dustin gave a cry of triumph and let her go before dashing over to the TV and setting up a game. Tori sighed and shook her head. If being with Dustin meant a never ending life of computer games, insanely sweet food and getting annoyed, she was going to have to do some serious attitude adjusting.

* * *

15:45  
Zero hours, sixteen minutes remain.  
  
Cam and Shane stood in front of Tori's apartment door. They were a little early but the alien was back. Blake and Hunter were there already keeping it busy but they needed badly Tori and Dustin. Cam knocked on the Tori's apartment door and waited. There was no answer. He tried again but there was still no reply.  
  
"That's weird." Shane murmured. Cam frowned slightly and held his amulet up to his mouth.  
  
"Tori? Dustin?" He said into it. After a few seconds of silence, Tori's reply came.  
  
"Hey Cam." She greeted.  
  
"Tori, where are you? Why haven't you answered your door?" Cam inquired.  
  
"Oh, did you knock? I'm sorry, the TV's on kinda loud and Dustin keeps yell...Dustin, what are you doing?! I told you to pause it!" Tori suddenly said, her voice fading out a bit showing she was no longer talking directly into her morphor.  
  
"And I did. You didn't say how long to keep it paused for though." He heard Dustin laugh in the background.  
  
"You cheeky..." Tori began to say.  
  
"Tori!" Cam cried in exasperation.  
  
"Oh, sorry Cam. So what's up? I didn't think you'd be here for another fifteen minutes or so." Tori replied.  
  
"Change of plan. The cat's back. Blake and Hunter are keeping it busy but we need you guys." Cam explained.  
  
"Kay." Tori said. "C'mon Dustin, we've gotta go." Her voice once again faded and then there was silence. After a few minutes, the door swung open and Tori and Dustin came out. "Let's go." She nodded quickly. The guys all nodded in agreement and they hurried down the stairs of the apartment building. Once outside, they found a quiet place where there was no one about.  
  
"You guys ready?" Shane asked like he always did.  
  
"Ready." The other three all chorused together.  
  
"Ninja Storm..."  
  
"Samurai Storm..."  
  
"Ranger Form! Ha!" They all cried together and were surrounded by lights of their colour.  
  
"Power of Earth!"  
  
"Air!"  
  
"Water!"  
  
"Power of the Samurai!"  
  
With that, they streaked off.

* * *

There ya go. Chapter 5. Sorry that it's kinda short but I've still got a bit of writer's block and I struggled with it a little. Looks like next chapter will be the last unless inspiration suddenly strikes and I get an idea for an epilouge. Who knows, I might see or hear something that fills me with ideas.  
Oh well, that's it from me.  
  
Catch you guys later :)  
Huggles  
Wings of a Dream


	6. Part VI

Hi everyone :)  
  
It's the last chapter! There will be no epilouge because writer's block isn't permitting me to write one. I don't think one is needed anyway. Everything is pretty much wrapped up. However, even though I have the writers block, there are other stories in process as I said last chapter so I guess it's just this one that I've got it on.  
Time for reviews :  
  
NeoVenus22 : Wow, I can't believe you bothered to review each chapter :) Since you took the time to write each seperate review all at once, I'll take the time to answer each single review. 1) Glad to hear that. 2) The Ace Ventura movies rock don't they? :) Glad you're loving it. 3) I totally can't believe you hate that song! Glad you thought it went well though :) 4) Glad you liked the chocolate comment. I thought it fit his character pretty well lol. 5) Ha ha! Another victory for bugging readers :) I like to bug my readers, it's oh so much fun. Hope this update has come quick enough for you :)  
  
Makia Durron : Dude, majorly blushing right now :) I have fans...Not just ordinary fans, but LOYAL fans. I'm so happy :) Hope this update has come fast enough for you.  
  
I'd also like to thank Crimson-Ranger, Divagurl277, huntersgrl13, Aubrey, alexis, CamFan4Ever and Moonlit Sea for all reviewing as well. Big hugs for all :)

Now, without further ado, it's time to wrap this puppy up...

* * *

16:01  
Zero hours, zero minutes remain.  
  
"Crimson Blaster!" Hunter called as he fired several crimson laser beams out of his weapon. They had no effect of the alien, which had already split into two, though and it ran past him and Blake, knocking them to the ground in a burst of sparks. They both let out grunts of pain and stuggled to get up.  
  
"I can't hold out much longer!" Blake cried as he tried to push himself up but his hand slipped beneath him and he fell back to the ground.  
  
"You've gotta hold on." Hunter encouraged, managing to get to his feet. "They'll be here soon."  
  
"Blake, Hunter! Tori and Dustin are on the way. Pull out." Cam's voice suddenly came through on their morphors.  
  
"See, told you." Hunter said as he lifted his brother to his feet. "Let's go." They both quickly dashed away, not having the strength to streak.  
  
"Hey, where are you going?" One of the aliens called, taking a few steps forward with it's twin.  
  
"Yeah, we were jusssst getting sssstarted!" The other called as well.  
  
"How about we help you finish off then?" Tori and Dustin called from the side. The two aliens turned to face them.  
  
"Oh, good. Another two Rangersss." One of the aliens, (A/N gonna call him Alien 1 to avoid later confusion) hissed through a laugh.  
  
"Ready to be beaten?" Alien 2, (A/N original name huh?) taunted.  
  
"You're the ones who are gonna be beaten!" Tori and Dustin corrected together. They all took up fighting stances before they charged at each other, Tori taking on Alien 1 while Dustin handled Alien 2. Tori and Dustin moved in perfect synchronisation throwing kicks and punches, gradually pushing the two aliens back. The two aliens suddenly swiped at them both but they managed to roll out of the way in opposite directions, coming back up on their knees and holding out their arms towards the aliens. "Ninja Beams!" They cried firing at the aliens. The lasers hit the aliens and sparks flew everywhere. The aliens staggered back and let out identical groans of pain. Tori and Dustin drew their swords and held them out. "Ninja Sword Gold, Power Up!" They said as their blades shinned with a bright golden light. Together, they charged at aliens from different angles and when they met in the middle, they leapt into the air, flipping over when they were at their highest point. "Ninja Power!" They called as they brought their swords down on the aliens. They slashed at them several before jumping away and taking up their victory stances. With a simultaneous cry, the aliens collapsed and exploded.  
  
Tori and Dustin just stood there for a moment before relaxing and opening their visors. Glancing at each other, they both let out small laughs of triumph. Tori ran up to Dustin and threw herself into his arms. He caught her and held her tightly, swinging her around. Sure, they had beaten aliens before, but this was the first time they had done it by themselves and the first time they truely realised how deep their bond had become.  
  
"Hey guys!" They heard Shane call. Dustin put Tori down but kept his hands rested on her hips while she had her hands rested on his shoulders. The others reached them and opened their visors as well. "You both all right?" Shane inquired.  
  
"We're fine." Tori and Dustin both assured.  
  
"Dude, that was amazing." Hunter told them in awe. "You were perfectly synchronised the whole way through. You even fell in the same way at the same time." Before Tori or Dustin could reply, the alien suddenly appeared in it's giant form behind them.  
  
"I'm not finissssshed yet." It hissed at them.  
  
"Well that should've been obvious." Blake grumbled as they all stared up at the giant alien.  
  
"How are we gonna beat it?" Shane asked Cam.  
  
"We just have to destroy it before it can split into two." Cam told them. "It won't be easy but it is possible."  
  
"All right." Shane nodded. "Let's go guys." He said to Tori and Dustin who let each other go. They all ran forward a few steps before jumping high into the air and landing in their zords which joined together shortly afterwards.  
  
"Ready bro?" Hunter asked his brother.  
  
"You know it." Blake nodded holding his fist in front of himself. The two Thunder's jumped into their zords and formed their Mega Zord as well.  
  
"Samurai Star Chopper!" Cam called, holding out his amulet. The bird shapped air craft flew until it was above him. A rope lowered down and he pulled himself up into the cockpit. "Samurai Star Mega Zord!" He said as he pressed a few buttons and the chopper turned into a it's human shaped form.  
  
"Okay guys, let's make this quick." Shane ordered.  
  
"Right." Everyone agreed. Blake and Hunter attacked first while Tori, Shane and Dustin called on some weapons. They all used their Power Discs to release the Serpant Sword.  
  
"Tori, Dustin, combine the Ram Hammer and the Turtle Mace." Cam instructed.  
  
"You up for a combo Tori?" Dustin asked.  
  
"You bet." Tori replied, pulling out the right Power Disc. "Turtle Mace. Locked and dropped, ready to rock."  
  
"Ram Hammer. Locked and dropped, ready to rock."  
  
The two Power Spheres popped out and split open. The two weapons came together and the Mega Zord took hold of them. It clanged over to the alien which thankfully hadn't split yet and was being kept occupied by the Thunder Mega Zord and Samurai Star Mega Zord. The two Mega Zords both punched the alien in the stomach, sending it flying backwards and then stepped aside making room for the Storm Mega Zord. Just as the alien had got to it's feet, the Storm Mega Zord threw the Turtle Mace out. It hit the alien and caused sparks to shower out. While the alien was still stunned from the blow, the Storm Mega Zord backed up slightly.  
  
"Ram Hammer, full power!" Dustin ordered. The Ram Hammer grew and slammed down onto the alien causing it to explode is clouds of smoke, fire and sparks.  
  
The Rangers all let out cries of joy and congratulated each other as the Zords they occupied stood there triumphantly as the rapidly thinning smoke blew around them.

* * *

The six Rangers walked into Ninja Ops after returning from the zord fight. Shane, Cam, Blake and Hunter walked in first and Dustin and Tori trailed behind slightly, Dustin's arm unconciously drapped around Tori's shoulders. The four guys who entered all sat down at the table in the middle and looked at the new couple as they came over.  
  
"So, I'm guessing you two are an item now." Shane grinned. Dustin and Tori, suddenly realising their position, quickly pulled away from each other and stared at the floor shyly. "Hey, what's with all the shyness?" Shane frowned in confusion. Neither Tori or Dustin answered because they weren't quite sure themselves. It wasn't that they were shy about being together. It was more like they were shy about showing they were together in front of the others. They didn't know why, they just were.  
  
"Tori and Dustin's new found relationship is a new concept." Sensei said as he jumped up on the table. "We will all need time to adjust to it." They all gave mixed reactions to this statement. Shane, Hunter and Cam shrugged having all ready excepted it, Tori and Dustin just stared at the edge of the table they now sat at uncomfortably and Blake looked at the edge of the table somewhat sadly. He gave a small sigh that no-one noticed. No-one except Dustin that is.

* * *

Blake stood alone by the edge of the lake near Ninja Ops. He stared out at the clear, still water and sighed. Dustin and Tori were a couple now. That meant his chances with Tori were thrown out of the window. He'd get used to it though...Eventually. He suddenly heard hesitant footsteps on the gravel behind him and he turned to see Dustin slowly walking up to him.  
  
"Hey dude." Dustin greeted as he came up to the Thunder Ninja's side.  
  
"Hey." Blake replied through a sigh.  
  
"You're cool about it aren't you?" Dustin asked, feeling that it was probably best to just get straight to the point. Blake didn't answer right away and just carried on staring at the water. Dustin watched him nervously, a part of him fearing the worst.  
  
"Yeah." Blake murmured after a while. "Yeah, it's cool." Dustin continued to watch him, trying to make out if he was sincere or not. Finally he decided that, although he couldn't tell for sure, Blake was being reluctantly sincere.  
  
"Okay, cool." Dustin said un-enthustiastically while nodding his head slightly. "You, erm...You wanna hit the track?" He offered as a sort of olive branch.  
  
"Nah, I'm gonna stay here a bit longer." Blake answered.  
  
"Kay." Dustin nodded again as he turned to leave. He could take a hint. As he walked away he saw Tori walking towards him. They met up a small way off from Blake. "Looking for me?" Dustin inquired quietly so Blake couldn't hear.  
  
"Actually, I was looking for Blake. I need to talk to him." Tori explained. Dustin nodded and, although he wasn't sure if that was the best idea, he decided not to mention it. Things were going to get awkward if things carried on like this and Blake might actually listen to Tori.  
  
"I'll catch up with you later then. Meet you at the beach?" Dustin suggested.  
  
"Sure." Tori smiled. She glanced over Dustin's shoulder to make sure Blake wasn't looking or anything before quickly standing on the tips of her toes and quickly kissing Dustin's cheek. A huge, slightly goofy grin spread over his face like he'd just won the lottery or something. Tori smiled back at him and gave his arm a quick rub before walking past him. He watched her approach Blake slowly before wandering back to Ninja Ops to see if Hunter wanted to go to the track.  
  
Tori came up beside Blake and joined him in staring out at the water. After a moment, she glanced at him. "You all right?" She checked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Blake sighed, not bothering to look at her.  
  
"Except..." Tori prompted, knowing what was wrong but feeling it would help him if he said it himself.  
  
"I'm just gonna need a little more time to get used to you and...Dustin." He said quietly.  
  
"Yeah. I know what you mean." Tori agreed, looking back at the lake just before Blake turned to look at her, slightly surprised. "I'm still getting used to it myself. Falling in love with someone who you've known forever in the space of a day is kind of a surprise." She explained with a small amused frown as she turned back to look at him.  
  
"So, you do love him then?" Blake asked, feeling his last hopes for him and Tori slipping out of his fingers.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I do." Tori nodded softly. Blake turned away and sighed. He wasn't happy about it, but at least he knew for certain now. Now he wouldn't live with a false hope that maybe, one day, they'd realise they didn't like each other in that way and he might have a chance again. "Are we still okay?" Tori inquired.  
  
"Yeah." Blake nodded, sounding far more sincere than he had when he had spoken to Dustin. Tori smiled and gave him a small hug. He slowly put his arms around her and patted her back lightly. She pulled away after a few pats and smiled at him. He gave her a weak smiled back.  
  
"I...I better get going." Tori said un-certainly.  
  
"Kay." Blake nodded.  
  
"I'll catch you later, kay?" Tori checked.  
  
"Sure." Blake agreed. Tori nodded before slowly turning and walking away. Blake watched her go and sighed. It was going to be hard, but he'd get over it. He turned back to the water again and lowered his head slightly before looking up at the sky forlornly. Yeah, he'd get over it...Sooner or later.

* * *

Dustin quickly hurried along the edge of the beach where there were several tufts of grass growing. He knew Tori was already there waiting for him, it was just a matter of finding her now. He paused for a moment to scan the nearly empty beach with his eyes. It was late evening and people were starting to head home. He suddenly spotted Tori coming out of the sea with her surfboard tucked under her arm. He let himself slide down the small ledge of sand and grass and jogged over to where Tori's stuff was. He reached it just before she did and picked up her towel for her. As he shook the sand for it, Tori reached him. The moment she had shoved her board into the sand so it would stand up on it's own, Dustin was at her side, wrapping the towel around her shoulders.  
  
"Thanks." Tori smiled up at him as he lightly rubbed her shoulders through the towel.  
  
"No problem." He replied as he let his arms drop and he sat down on the sand. They remained silent as Tori quickly dried herself off before sitting down next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and her hand came to rest on top of his. "How'd it go with Blake?" He questioned.  
  
"Not bad. I think he'll be okay. He just needs time to adjust. We all do." Tori answered.  
  
"Shane, Hunter and Cam don't seem to." Dustin pointed out.  
  
"Cam knew it was coming, Hunter probably isn't that bothered and Shane...Well, I don't know about Shane. I think he's just happy for us." Tori murmured.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Hey Tor?"  
  
"Hmm?" Tori hummed lazily.  
  
"You know earlier? At Ninja Ops...When I pulled away...I only did that because..." Dustin stammered.  
  
"I know." Tori cut off, her fingers curling around his hand. "Same here." She admitted, knowing what he was going to say and knowing he was going to apologise for it. Dustin turned his head slightly and smiled down at her. Tori lifted her head from his shoulder and tilted it up a little so she could smile back at him. Gradually, their faces drew closer together and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. They held it for a moment before slowly pulling away though their faces still remained close. When they opened their eyes, they both let out silent giggles and they brushed their noses together before pulling each other into another sweet kiss. They stayed where they were until Tori found herself getting too cold. That's when they finally decided to head to their respective homes, but not before a stretched out goodbye and several more kisses.  
  
Dustin watched Tori's van drive out of sight with a huge smile spread across his face. He turned and walked into the apartment building where he and Shane shared a place. He knew he was going to bombarded with questions when he saw him, but he kind of liked that. It he gave him an excuse remember and go over the past two days. It might also help for him to try and make sense of it all. Not that it really needed to make sense. After all, he loved Tori and she loved him and when they both stopped to think about it, they realised that was really the only thing that mattered.

* * *

There, all done. This last chapter was actually quite enjoyable to write. I've never written a full fight scene before so I hope it was all right. It was fun remembering all the different phrases they use as well...Yeah, I'm kinda sad lol. I know that the Rangers only say "Locked and dropped, ready to rock" once, (in one of the earlier episodes) but I think that sounds more interesting than the usual "Locked and dropped" so I decided to use that instead :) As for the bit with Blake, I felt his feelings had to be addressed even though I hate writing sad things like unrequited love. So, if you don't think that bit was as angst filled as it could've been and are disappointed with it, I apologise but angst isn't really my department.  
Well, that's all from me for this time. I'm probably gonna write a couple of one-shots before I start another series. Definately gonna write a another Tori/Hunter because it's in my system again :) Probably write a Tori/Blake as well since I haven't done one of those for a while. Also, I might try another rare pairing like this Tori/Dustin. Maybe Tori/Shane...I dunno, I'll have to think about that one.  
Okay, that's enough ramblings of self-promotion for today :)  
  
Catch you all next time :)  
Huggles  
Wings of a Dream


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